Saturday, August 8, 2020

Hustle and Bustle

We had so many things on our plates this week that the word “busy” just didn’t cut it. Luckily, a lot of that busy-ness was time spent with friends and family. 

In my last post, I showed what happened to our ornamental pear tree in the front yard. One of its main limbs broke off (Bruce says he relates, LOL). That happened before the damage of Hurricane Isaias on the east coast, so I’m not complaining about our minor mishap. It’s nothing compared to what so many thousands are going through now, and my heart goes out to them.

Our lawn guys moved the downed branch out of the way to mow and edge the lawn. They gave us a very reasonable bid for pruning our trees and bushes, clearing the grapevines off the patio roof, and going through our flower beds (front and two side yards) and removing all the weeds and grass, plus trimming down all the spent perennials. All that work took place yesterday (Friday). We were up at 7am to put in a morning of work in alongside the guys. I deadheaded roses and tended to my flower pots and Bruce weeded the garden and harvested vegetables. Then we got our showers, had lunch and spent the entire afternoon at two different appointments for Bruce. Well, he did. I drove, then napped in the car with the air conditioning on. Our vehicle is a hybrid, so it doesn’t idle. The engine comes on periodically to recharge the battery, but that’s it.

Cousin Kim came over to sew last Sunday. We decided that after 4-plus months of both our families isolating, practicing stringent social distancing and masking up, that we could safely merge our two family bubbles. Her granddaughters will be going back to school online, so once that was decided, we all relaxed.  Kim fell in love with the Zipper blocks, and has started making some. She’s addicted too!  I made ten more blocks this week. The first six are the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month - purple.

And here are all ten of them together. That brown guitar fabric also became additional masks for Bruce and our granddaughter Lauren, who plays the guitar. I made another nine masks this week for various family members. With school and autumn coming, and no end of Covid in sight until next year at the earliest, it seemed like a good time to supplement everyone’s supply.

On Thursday we got to visit our long-time family friend Terri, who recently had shoulder surgery. It was heartwarming to see her again as it’s been 3 months. She visited us out on the patio shortly after Bruce’s arm was amputated. It was beyond great to catch up. Terri and Mike (her late husband who was Bruce’s lifelong best friend) are about as close to being family as anyone can be, and we’ve missed our visits. 

In between visits and yard work, I did get time to sew more purple stuff. Here are my selvage half-hexie blocks along with some fabric half hexies (maybe I should just call them trapezoids?)

I’m not sure if I’m going to sew them in horizontal rows like this or whether I’ll do them in vertical rows. I think I’ll just wait until I’ve been through all the selvage colors, and then play. My guess is that there might be enough to make two or more quilts.

Moving along, I also sewed some Twin Sisters blocks. Have I mentioned how much I love these? Yeah, probably every month! Twelve blocks made in purples.

I also had some time to make three blocks for my August One Monthly Goal quilt. I sewed the yellow spinner block in the top right, the red folded box block in the second row (leftmost), and the aqua block at the bottom. And I played with red for the sashing. What do you think? I like its bold brightness. It really amps up the youth feel, which I like for this donation quilt. Here are things just pinned up on the design board. The red sashing will also be used for an outer border. Just two blocks left to sew. Their designs and colors are already selected.

Also this week, our toaster and my portable small iron died. I guess if we count the fallen tree limb, that makes three bad things this week, so I have high hopes for a quiet week next week. We had replacements in hand the next day thanks to Amazon Prime. Here is the new iron, posing with my new (last month) wool ironing mat (I love it) and my newest little furry squirrel friend. 

That cute little squirrel panel came from Sally with the scraps I won a couple months ago. It will become a wall hanging before fall. But isn’t that plushie CUTE? I saw it at the grocery store in the gift section and couldn’t resist. The cats’ reaction? Totally uninterested. 

I’m linking up to Scrappy Saturday at Angela’s blog. Today Blogger isn’t letting me center my pictures in the post. It’s always something with them, isn’t it? 


22 comments:

  1. Love the twin sisters blocks, too. I think years ago they were called Paddle Wheel, and I kind of remember making one with templates. (The horror!) I'm glad you are enjoying some time with family and friends. One thing this has taught us is how important people are. Happy weekend!

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  2. Wow, what a busy week you’ve had! How ever did you find time to sew all those super blocks? Love those Twin Sisters blocks.

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  3. I was really having trouble with Blogger yesterday when attempting to write today's post. Not centering the photos was only one thing. It was my first frustrating time since all the changes started, so I guess I can't complain too much! Always fun to see your purple blocks for the week, and I am continuing to love your OMG project!

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  4. widdle squirrel little iron... I love those little irons don't you? Do you feel the wool mat is worth getting? LeeAnna

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  5. You've used some really gorgeous PURPLE scraps! Hoping Bruce's appointments went well. SEW glad that you thoroughly enjoyed your visits this week!

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  6. Beautiful purples in your block. So glad you found someone to take care of the yard work and yea - for visiting with friends.

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  7. I wondering if I will catch the zipper thing as well. nice job

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  8. With such a busy week you still managed to get all that stitching done! Well done.

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  9. You had a busy week! I’m so glad there are folks to help with household chores! We still do most, but have found a guy that fixes sprinkler heads. Mr Busy can do it, but the up and down is tough. So help is good.
    Zipper blocks, salvages, twin sister blocks! Holey Miley I feel like a slacker! Hope you have a good week! Love
    Bruce ‘s sense of humor!

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  10. I guess Google feels that because Blogger is free and their only real competition (Wordpress) is just as complicated, they can annoy and aggravate their user base on a daily basis. Makes me glad, I never started a blog, as I would surely have quit by now. You have a busy week, but a productive one.
    Pat

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  11. Those selvage hexies make me swoon! I wish your yard guys could wander over here for a bit. LOL

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  12. Always love purples! Is there a trick for making Twin Sisters blocks quickly and easily?

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  13. I really like the Twin Sisters blocks, especially in purple.
    You amaze me at how you remain so cheerful when things don't go right. Yes, what has happened in your household is small in comparison, but frustrating none the same, and yet, I see your smile in your words. I want to be like you when (and if) I grow up!
    Stay you, stay safe, keep healthy!

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  14. You HAVE been busy!! Lots of visiting going on at your place. I especially like the aqua block at the bottom. I like that pattern in my favorite color!! I'm sure I have seen it before but can't recall the name of the block.
    xx, Carol

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  15. Those Zippers look like loads of fun but they are waaay too squirrely for me right now...I'm my own lawn guys.

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  16. The red sashing is just right, even though it is purple month. And I completely understand why you had to get the stuffed squirrel! Soooo cute. Fill that little acorn with catnip and maybe the kitties will get more interested. Or not. Angel had no taste for the 'nip, but George loved it so much that anything even vaguely mint-flavored could get her stoned. I found her head stuffed inside a Junior Mints box once. We had an intervention after that.

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  17. Hi Cathy! What a fun newsy post. LOVE the twin sister blocks - I never knew the name of that block. And, of course, the half-hexies are fab. But best of all is the meeting with Terri. I'm certain she was over the moon to be able to get together as well. {{Hugs}} Take care and stay safe. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  18. I just love the speedy delivery of Amazon. There is no way we can go for long without our irons! So how do you like that one? I've seen several of my fellow quilters with that one at retreats. Your blocks are pretty. Love all the sister blocks and I'm afraid I'd be addicted to the zipper blocks too. Hope you have a great week!

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  19. Glad to hear you had some family visiting time! It's getting tough to just have phone calls and video chats to stay in touch. Definitely like the red sashing on the OMG quilt. Sounds like everyone had trouble centering their Blogger pix this week; I fought with it and came out with centered pictures, but it was a struggle. Maybe they're trying to drive everyone way from blogging?!

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  20. I remember Twin Sisters as a Lotto block. Have you begun your Purple Creature yet? (Thinking Purple People Eater this time....)

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  21. Wow you have had a busy week! Love the squirrel fabric and plushey!

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  22. Red sashing? Perfect. Purple blocks - perfect too. Getting together with family and friends - beyond perfect. And the cute wee squirrel? He would have come home with me too!

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