Wednesday, April 1, 2020

March Quilt Recap and April OMG

Before March, with all 147 of its days (didn’t it seem like the.longest.month.ever?) ended, I was able to finish up two more small quilts. That brought my total to 5 for March. First to be finished over the weekend was the Seeing Stars wall hanging. This was a sew-along with my friend Diane Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting. Here it is up on the design wall. I debated awhile about that red and white striped binding, but I’m glad I used it - it’s so cute!


I was never crazy about the fabric I selected, but I do LOVE how this wall hanging turned out. I’ve got plenty extra blocks (in greens and pinks) that I’ll be able to use to make a table runner or topper. That will happen probably this month, because they’ll definitely have a spring feel. Seeing Stars  finished at 30.5” x 36.5”.  And as you can see, Sir Alfalfa supervised and approved of this new burst of color in  the living room. Yes, he’s a Sir now; the Queen knighted him in March, did I tell you? For meritorious service to humankind because of his extreme cuddliness and care of Bruce.  :-)


But as this is an equal opportunity blog, we can’t leave out Princess Darla. Here she is doing what she does best. What you can’t see (or hear) is that she is snoring.  She’s such a dainty little cat, but man can she SNORE! Maybe I need to get her a CPAP. Or would that be a CCAT?


Moving along, the second finish in the last few days of the month was my small version of Bonnie Hunter’s On Ringo Lake pattern, which I call On Ringo Pond. It finished at 45” square and will be a donation quilt for Quilts for Kids.


Here is a collage of the five quilts I finished in March.


Top: On Ringo Pond; Teddy Bear Sailor Quilt (panel for QFK)
Bottom: Turtles and Frogs (panel for QFK)  (oops, I didn’t put the finished quilt picture in the collage, but it is done and posted on my 2020 Quilts Page, link under header); Seeing Stars; Creature from the Aqua Lab


I’m also going to take this opportunity to declare my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for April. The 9-patch variation blocks shown below in light blue were a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project that I sewed throughout 2019. I have 120 9-patch blocks to sew into a top. There are 2 extra pink blocks that will go into the block Orphanage.







So, I’m linking up to Patty’s OMG goal-setting post at Elm Street Quilts. My goal is to get these blocks not only sewn into a top, but quilted and bound and FINISHED by month-end.  Whereas March felt like it was 147 days long, we all know that April is a shorter month. Still, 96 days in April should be plenty to finish the quilt - and lots more too!  :-)

The new Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for April is light and bright blue. I say “new”, but my brain is screaming that light blue is just a blink away from March’s color of aqua/teal. I do have some things to sew in light blue, but I probably will wait until we get to the darker blues to make a Creature Quilt. And I don’t need more light blue International Sister blocks, or Beachcomber blocks (both projects continuing from last year). I plan to make a blue scrap bin, but it will combine all blues, so that may or may not happen this month. Instead, I’ll work on red and yellow garlic knot blocks, since those are the two remaining colors I need to be able to assemble all those blocks into a quilt top. I also have lots of selvages to sew up, and quilts to finish; On Ringo Lake (the bigger quilt of the two I was making) and an International Sisters wall hanging to quilt and bind. There is no shortage of projects, that’s for sure.

Bruce is currently in the hospital. His surgery is today, as I write this. I’m waiting for a call from the doctor once he’s in recovery. There was no waiting allowed in the hospital. He will have to remain in the hospital for 5 days so they can monitor the circulation of the blood vessels in the tissue they transplant to his wrist/forearm area. And because of the coronavirus, there are no visitors allowed in the hospital. So that means that Bruce and I will communicate by video chat. Yeah. This first week of April alone will feel like 34 days...

14 comments:

  1. Your quilts and kitty are so much fun! You have made tons of progress. I am so sorry you cannot be at the hospital!

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  2. A very productive March. I LOVE Seeing Stars! At least you recognize a month has passed. I have to remind myself every morning what DAY of the week it is. Definitely disorienting times.

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  3. That look of shock from Alfie is the realization that his heated bed is gone and his company is operating with only 50 percent of its usual staff. I’m thinking of you and hoping Bruce has a flawless surgery and recovery.

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  4. Oh praying for good results for Bruce in there. Sorry you cannot visit--that must be so hard...on you both!!
    Your finishes are just lovely...and i had the same reaction to the light blue April color--hey, almost the same as March?? Well, I guess perhaps we are all a little "blue" these days, huh?
    Hang in there kiddo..~ ~ ~ ~from Julierose ;)))

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  5. I know you are SO pleased to have ORL to this stage....one step closer to getting it to a new home. Meanwhile: the wallhanging is very nice. I like the variable star blocks with the snowball corner centers. Thanks for the tip about the RSC for April.

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  6. Best wishes to Bruce and prayers for a speedy recovery. Let’s all be grateful for video chat in these trying times!!!

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  7. I'm glad to see your update about Bruce. I've been thinking about you all day. Hope you have good news tonight about how the surgery went. I didn't realize he would need to spend 5 days in the hospital, though. Our situation here is much the same. I will take Mike to the hospital tomorrow and can stay with him in pre-op. After that we'll communicate by phone and video chat. We can do this, Cathy! Your Seeing Stars wall-hanging is lovely!

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  8. Shame on you for telling Princess Darla's secret, Cathy!! Thanks for sharing that great batch of quilts you finished during March. Best of luck with Bruce's surgery and recovery. I know it's going to be a LONG 5 days for you both!

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  9. I hope the first 34 days of April pass without incident for you and Bruce. And I'm with you on light blue being too close to aqua for it to be April's color! We needed CHANGE, man, CHANGE! Sigh. I think this means that April is going to be a lot like March. Meanwhile, that little wall hanging is cute, but not as cute as Darla :)

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  10. Seeing what everyone is finishing up is making me blue, so one would think I'd be all set for the April RSC, but no, I was going to do some crumb blocks yesterday. Pulled out the baggie of crumbs and decided I didn't want to use just light and medium blues. Threw it back in the box and shut the lid. I'm working on Seeing Stars, but it's not perking me up either. And I don't have the patience to figure out where I left off on Frolic. Does this mean I should just start something new since I can't go shopping?
    Hope Bruce is progressing and maybe they'll let him out sooner.
    Pat

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  11. LOVE how your Seeing Stars project turned out! The bright colors against the white background look so fresh and inviting. I'm glad Sir Alfalfa approves!

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  12. As always, such pretty finishes Cathy - but my heart was taken with Princess Darla (snoring or not!). So glad that Bruce's surgery was a success and that he's coming home soon (maybe already is - because I'm behind in commenting again!!)

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  13. You'll be busy! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck with your project.

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