Baby Bow Tie

Began June 2011, Finished August 2021

Sewing Reports Week 22

It's been awhile. I've all but quit sewing; it's my eyes but not what you probably think. My eyes aren't focusing as well in the last couple of months and my sweet spot of vision has gone from 10-12 inches down to 4-6 inches. Getting that close to the sewing machine needle has been really hard on my back and I am only able to sit at the machine for a few minutes before it starts hurting. I was hoping to get my quilted tops completely finished before my next eye surgery, but I don't think that is going to happen. I can still read, and have been spending more time reading lately to take my mind off my decreasing vision.

While I should be working on UFO quilts, I decided to go off target and make something else instead.  What stitching I have been doing in the last month has been on a little project that I can work on for a few minutes at a time until my back needs a rest. They are pen holders for journals or reading books. I thought of the idea last month when I finally reached my limit with the inconvenience of hooking my pen into the spiral binding of my book journal and then either losing it or not being able to open the journal without removing it, and then I lay it down and leave it somewhere. I googled and sure enough, it was not a unique idea, but none of the ones I found were quite what I had in mind, so I designed my own. Cheap, easy to make, and no velcro or buckles that add bulk, plus it fits onto any size reading book from little paperbacks to large hardbacks. I'm making these for members of my book club so I have plenty of time to finish them before December even working at snail speed.

Because of my very slow pace and frequent breaks, my sewing reports are not impressive. But that's just what it is right now. I also had to buy some fat quarters this week in bright colors to go with the bright bands. Those only came in five colors and they are not my usual choice of colors so I had very little to choose from. I also had to buy some fusible interfacing. That purchase didn't help my stash report, but happily I've already made a dent in it. For the most part, I was able to use scraps from my stash.

I'm joining the usual Sunday groups here. It will be fun to see what everyone else has been doing while I've been lazy the past few weeks.

May One Monthly Goal

Word to the wise: Don't make any plans for the first month after your spouse retires.

Hopefully, Hubby's enthusiasm for getting things done around the house has waned and I can have my own To Do list for May. I will admit though, it is nice to be able to put the car in the garage and to have an organized desk again. All of the raised beds have been moved and partially filled with new garden soil, and two beds are planted. The stock tank water garden has been moved, repaired, and filled again. The old stock tank has also been moved to the far side of the barn.

You might remember that we spent the first week of April with my mother and now I am planning her 90th birthday party. We are having a family only birthday at her house followed by drive by birthday greetings. If anyone has done a drive by birthday party, tell me what worked and what didn't.

Since I didn't accomplish anything sewing related in April, I am repeating it as my May goal even though I've missed the linkup deadline. I should shelve it since it is not on my PhD list, and I am running out of time before my next eye surgery, but I'm afraid if I don't continue, it will be harder to get back to it. So for May, I want to get all the blocks made for Glory Be! That's the blocks, the whole blocks, and nothing but the blocks!

Sewing Sunday Week 17

I have done very little stitching this week, so I'm going to start with a picture of bluebonnets! I noticed a few cars stopping to take pictures today and thought I'd better get out there and take some pictures myself before the flowers were trampled flat.

Tis the season to be outside and even though I can't do much, I am still great at directing. This week Hubby got a couple of loads of dirt from a friend who was dredging his creek. You can see the piles to the right of the barndominium. They were too wet to spread Thursday and then Friday we got an inch and a half of rain, so they will be there awhile. While waiting for the dirt delivery, he moved more of the raised beds from the side to the back where they will be protected from the wind. Then he drained the stock tank where my water lilies live, pulled out all the lilies and fish, and moved the tank to the back. But first, he had to move the tank that was there. It developed a leak so now needs to be repaired and moved to the back pasture. Hopefully, the deer will go to it at night instead of coming to my lily tank and feasting on water lilies. The feral hogs have also been coming up to the house at night, so it looks like a fence will be needed soon. I may not get back to sewing until July.

I only sewed three days this week which made my success percentage take a dive. I didn't use any fabric, but I didn't report fabric use last week, so I'm doing that this week before I lose those little notes pinned to my design wall.

Join me at the two linky parties below to see what other quilters have been doing this week.

To Do Tuesday

After a week in the COLD Texas panhandle, I'm glad to be home. Growing up there, I don't remember ever having a freeze after April 15. That date was memorable because it was Mom's day to plant the garden. But this trip, we had several days where the temperature dipped down to 32F and Sunday morning it was 28F. We had taken the RV because Mom's house isn't really set up for overnight guests and her spare bed hurts Hubby's back. We decided it would be easier to keep all of our stuff in our RV and run back and forth. However, we decided that before the temperature dropped to 28 and froze our water supply. That night, poor Hubby had to thaw out the hose and blow it out so we could have water. Needless to say, by the end of our eight days there, we were happy to be headed south. When we got home, I had a message that Baby Bow Tie was ready to be picked up from the quilters, so now I have two quilts that only need binding to be finished. Those will be my main goals for the coming week.

I didn't take my sewing machine or any big projects because of the space issue. I thought I'd get some hand-quilting done on Dark Star, but I just couldn't see well enough. I need a lighted magnifying stand. So far, the reviews for most are unimpressive. The result is that all I did there was work on a couple of small embroidery projects. I used the same pattern I've tried before, but this time with sack cloth and really, I think the weave in it is too loose, where the quilting cotton I used before was too tight. I looked at some linen in the craft department, but decided to wait until I can buy it off the bolt. Like Goldilocks, the linen is jusssst right.

Since I missed a week, this is from the last list I made:

√ Press Christmas Friends top and back and deliver to quilter on Friday


She found the perfect pattern with poinsettias and holly leaves!

√ Starch Glory Box blocks and add missing pieces to several of them
√ Finish Santa redwork
X Make four Crowning Glory blocks (I only made 3)
X Bind Baby Bow Tie
√ Make quilting design for Dark Star

New goals for April 20-26, 2021:

• Make and put on binding for Baby Bow Tie
• Finish Christmas bird redwork
• Make and put on binding for Christmas Among Friends
• Make three Crowning Glory blocks

Linking to:
To Do Tuesday at Chris Knits

Design Wall Monday

My days are a little off kilter this week. I am staying with my mom for a week and have completely lost track of time. I was going to bring my sewing machine and projects with me but in the end just decided to bring some hand stitching. I forgot how dark mom's house is though so I may not get to work on any of it.

The bluebonnets in our front pasture are having a banner year but I haven't had a chance to get a photo. Yesterday, a neighbor texted that he has been admiring our bluebonnets and sent this photo in the text.

I took this photo of my design wall Friday and I'm afraid it will remain this way for awhile.

Join me at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts to see what other quilters are doing this week.

To Do Tuesday

I like to write my blog posts in the evening after Hubby has gone to bed and the house settles into quiet. The tapping of my keys, the ticking of a clock across the room, and outside the coyotes are yipping as they make their nightly run across our field from one creek to the next. As I sit here writing this post, my mind is racing with them, thinking of all the things I need to do in the coming days and stopping now and then to dwell on this project or that. Eventually I'll start typing again and try to shape my thoughts into a plan for the week. These To Do Lists on Tuesdays have helped so much to plan ahead and stay on task.

Last week's list and accomplishments:

✔ Put on binding for Night Sky
✔Put on binding for Night Sky (posted Thursday)
✔ Finish ripping out all the blocks of Blue and Yellow Glory Boxes Glory Be!
X Make a redwork Christmas block
✔ Make a Christmas gift bag
✔ Make backing for Christmas Among Friends
A last minute discovery of a fabric problem made me scrap the original backing that only needed one seam, and find three other fabrics that would work together, and I barely had enough.

New goals for April 6-12, 2021:

• Press Christmas Friends top and back and deliver to quilter on Friday
• Starch Glory Box blocks and add missing pieces to several of them
• Make four Crowning Glory blocks
• Finish Santa redwork
• Bind Baby Bow Tie
• Make quilting design for Dark Star

Back in January, one of my first goals was to find my irons. I have yet to find them. How does one misplace two irons?

Linking to:
To Do Tuesday at ChrisKnits

Design Board Monday

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I'm still not sure I should be trying to remake this quilt, but I have soldiered on with the blocks I could salvage. There weren't even enough full blocks to make a good sized lap quilt, so I looked through some block patterns and found a block that will compliment the Glory Box blocks. It is called Crowning Glory. Since both blocks have Glory in their name, I think it needs a new name to go along with its new look. Glory Be! I made one block Sunday with similar colors from my stash. The white fabric I used is actually a beige on white. Here is the one new block with the old blocks around it. I think these colors will work. If I make a few more and feel it needs more color, I'll have to beg a ride to the fabric store. Below is my plan for the revised quilt, crudely made in MS Paint.

I still have one block that needs some pieces ripped off, and then I get to start starching the blocks back into shape before re-adding pieces. This was my main To Do Goal for the week and I don't think I'm going to get it finished. I also need to do some long neglected housework and paint the siding on the back porch today. I fear that quilting may take a back seat today. Join me at the linky party linked below to see what other quilters are working on right now.

Linking to:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Sunday Sewing Week 14

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Dove of Peace quilt by Jo Moury, free pattern download here.

Happy Easter to all my quilting friends!

What a week! Hubby retired Wednesday after 40 years in the paint business. He turned in his company car Tuesday and first thing Thursday, he decided we had to buy a compact SUV. He doesn't like putting city miles on the pickup, and I will admit, there is not a rougher ride than a 3/4 ton or 1 ton pickup. But I did think we could wait awhile and do some research. Instead, we spent the next few days looking at cars and test driving and by Saturday afternoon, we had a new RAV4. If you have bought a new car lately, have you noticed that most of the interiors are black? So hard to see anything that falls on the floor. One sales person told us it was because black doesn't show dirt. Wrong! Our pickup has all black interior and it shows every dirty footprint and finger smudge.

I took my embroidery with me but just couldn't work on it while we were driving. I worked on it a few times while Hubby ran some errands but mostly, I ripped out the Glory Box blocks. I finished sewing the binding on Night Sky on Thursday evening and started sewing the backing for Christmas Friends on Friday. On Saturday, I discovered that one of the fabrics was polyester and started ripping out the stitches on the backing. I think I need to buy stock in a seam ripper company. I also cut more fabric for the backing (all cotton this time) but am waiting until I have all my brain cells firing before I start stitching again.

All told, I stitched or unstitched every day and used a bit of fabric. Check out my progress in the charts below and the linky parties listed at the end to see what other quilters are doing.

Linking to:

Night Stars

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Began May 2011, finished April 2021. I almost had it finished in March.

One Monthly Goal and PhD

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March One Monthly Goal Complete

My March goal was to make the backing and binding for Night Stars, make a quilting plan, and quilt the stars. I didn't think I was going to make it, but I finished the last star amd began quilting between them. This quilt may have caused permanent shoulder damage. Good news though, the long arm quilter just called and Baby Bow Tie is ready to be picked up. It is so much easier to have someone else do the quilting that I may start scrimping on other budget items just to pay for it.

Please don't look carefully at the quilting. The sewing machine foot screw kept getting hung on the safety pins when the quilt was bunched under the harp of the machine and jerking over to stitch in another spot. At first, I was picking those out, and when it kept happening, I decided I could live with it.

April One Monthly Goal(s)

With some misgivings, I've decided that April's goal will be to get all the blocks made for Blue and Yellow Glory Boxes. I don't want to spend much time on this since it isn't even on my PhD list for 2021. But it is such a mess that I'd like to at least get it moved to an organized project box this year. I've found 16 intact plus sign blocks, but I may have to bring in a new fabric to finish the flying geese on some of the floral blocks.

PhD Report

Since I am using LibreOffice with my new laptop, I had to remake all of Gail's charts as closely as Calc would allow, and I added another chart just for me.

Linking to:
One Monthly Goal March Finish at Elm Street Quilts
One Monthly Goal April Beginning at Elm Street Quilts
PhD March Report at QuiltingGail

Gairden Walk

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Began February 2010. Finsihed March 2021