No More Strings … and Other Things to Celebrate

My string bucket is empty!! Well, to be more accurate, this is what I have left over. 

But other than slipping these bits into the inside pocket of the bucket, this cavernous bucket is empty!

I keep my strings (when I have them) in this canvas beach bucket (that’s a pink flamingo on the outside) that I got for next to nothing at Barnes and Noble a decade or more ago. I believe this is the first time it’s been empty! I managed to sew 32 blocks from last week’s remains, which brought my final String Frenzy total up to exactly 500 from September 1 to mid-November. Woo-hoo! I haven’t trimmed the final 32, but here they are anyway. 

Whew! (Wipes brow) Now I can focus on other sewing projects until year-end. I took my Bernina in for annual servicing yesterday, and I hope to get it back before I’m unable to drive after surgery (about 10 days). But if not, I can get friend Ruby or Cousin Kim to pick it up and bring it to me at the next “Church of Bernina” sewing day. 

So this coming week I can trim the last string blocks and gather them together for the first January Quilts for Kids meeting. 

This past week I basted two quilts, both From Rainbow Scrap Challenge block sets from 2024 and 2025, respectively.. This first one, Windmills, is backed with a Tula Pink teacup fabric from her Alice in Wonderland line (it was probably named something else). 

The second quilt is Weathervanes. It’s rather odd, isn’t it, that both these quilt blocks and resulting quilts are named after things that relate to wind - Weathervanes and Windmills. Weathervanes, below, will be a gift for my housekeeper. 

I’m going to whip out my Pfaff Grand Quilter and try using that to quilt these two. I don’t remember any particulars from reading the machine’s instruction manual, so I’m not sure if I can FMQ on this straight-stitch-only machine,. But I should be able to handle whatever the heck it does do. If I have any issues, I can always use my little Brother machine to do a serpentine stitch. 

My next project will be to finish these Night-Flying Geese into a quilt top. These are just placed (sideways) on the design board. I hope to web them on Monday. Excuse the wonkiness…

 

While I have black thread out for that, I’ll fix a black leather purse handle on a beaded purse (an African design from Chico’s) that Ruby got for me at an estate sale. And speaking of Ruby, she and I did go up to Crystal Hot Springs to “take the waters” on Thursday. It was my turn to drive, and we had overcast weather all day. That was no problem while we were in the hot springs, but we did have some heavy rain for about a half hour on the way home. All in all, it was a fun day, but no pictures.

This week I also got all my pre-op registration and tests (EKG and lab work) done, so I will just waltz on in to the hospital on the 4th and let Calgon (or the anesthesiologist) take me away. My knee replacement will be done as outpatient surgery so I’ll go home the same day. But first, the HOA annual meeting this morning, a party later this weekend and Thanksgiving on Thursday. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate!

String Theory

It was a week of strings. My theory is that quilters who are obsessed with strings (*cough cough*) will let all other sewing projects go in hectic times or times where the calming influence of easy, mindless sewing are required. As an example, I offer myself.

The list of projects in my sewing pipeline is longer than Donald Trump’s Pinocchio nose, but all other projects were forsaken this week. And I don’t regret it one bit.

I sewed four sets of 15 string blocks (6.5” unfinished) for a total of 60 this week. That brings my String Frenzy total to 468 (out of a goal of 600). I will not make my goal of 600, because the remaining pile is small, and will likely only yield me somewhere between 45-60 more. I hope to find out exactly how many before month end. But as my friend Carolyn pointed out, I should not think of it as missing my goal, but rather that my string bucket will be cleaned out. Yippee! And that is (or will be) cause for celebration.  And will likely last less than a week or until I trim the next quilt backs…..

Anyway, here are this week’s strings with their brethren on my design board. These are the blocks that I’ve made just since our October Quilts for Kids meeting, where I turned in over 200. They are pinned in groups of 15 to be inserted into quilt kits for our volunteers.

I did find a couple rolls of strings in my light neutrals drawers, one in whites and another in off-whites, that are leftovers of several rolls that someone in our chapter of Quilts for Kids gifted me with a few years ago. White isn’t the most preferred color for kids quilts, but I could make HST string blocks with them and come up with a design. I would just need to dig up some complementary fabrics. 

I have a couple doctor appointments next week, an HOA Board meeting in preparation for next Saturday’s big annual meeting, my Weight Watchers workshop, and a Block-of-the-month class at my local quilt store. I’m taking the class with Ruby and her sister Cathy, Cousin Kim and her niece Jenny, plus two ladies from my WW group. Whew. Hopefully there will be chunks of time in there where I can retreat to my sewing room and start working again on quilts. I would like to make a backing for the Weathervane quilt and hopefully pin baste it and the Windmills top too. And maybe finish up my strings. HA! One can dream!

Also, Ruby and I (and possibly Bruce) are planning another day trip on Thursday up to Crystal Hot Springs, where we went to soak in the mineral waters last January. But the weather is supposed to turn cold and nasty this week, so that may or may not happen. 

So, that’s all I have this week to share. But I’ll insert a gratuitous picture of Darla. I walked into the bedroom one afternoon a few days ago and noticed that the pillows were askew. This is what  who I found peeking from behind. 

Daddy can sleep on the couch tonight because I am claiming this side!

Oh, one more thing. Not to brag, but I’m done with my Christmas shopping. Before you boo and hiss, I should remind you that my knee surgery is December 4 and I will not be able to drive for weeks afterwards (and Bruce doesn’t drive anymore). So we took advantage of Barnes and Noble’s yearly promotion - it ends before Thanksgiving - and bought gift cards for everyone. In the process, we earned enough in rewards to supply our coffee, book, magazine, and puzzle habit for a long time! Life is good!

Linking to Scrappy Saturday at Angela’s blog for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

First November Finish

Paint Chips is a finished quilt! I’ve had so much fun with these 2.5” squares (and some 2.5x4.5” pieces), that I almost hate to see this one end. The blocks were constructed this year as part of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge plan. Please note that the blocks are not supposed to be identical - I pieced the colored columns of each block any way that I wanted to so that the ups and downs would be more varied. Probably would’ve worked better with an uneven number of columns, etc (like a 25-patch block). Hmmm… I may have to try that.

Regardless, I do love it, and Paint Chips finished at 48x56”, a good size for a young child. Naturally, it will go to Quilts for Kids. 

Once that was done, I did some webbing on the Weathervane quilt. I’ll finish this later today, but the vertical columns are webbed and the first horizontal seam has been stitched. The rest are just pinned up there, safe from Designing Cats. 

And speaking of cats, Mr. Cat himself, Alfie, had a dental visit on Thursday. The sore he had on his gums had healed up, so he got a cleaning and didn’t need to have any teeth extracted. Way to go, Alfalfa! 

Pic taken a few years ago

I only got 30 string blocks done this week (6.5”), which brings my fall total up to 408. I hope to finish 600 by the end of the year and this puts me at 68% of the way there. I’m not sure my strings or stamina will last until I reach 600, but I’ll keep on plugging away. I’m sorely wishing I had taken a “before” picture of my strings tote, a big beach bag, jammed tightly with strings yet still overflowing. Lots of other strings were given to me at the October Quilts for Kids workshop (a gallon-sized zip bag), plus I pieced 63 blocks from my Christmas scraps. So the fact that the tote is now loosely filled and 2/3 full doesn’t bode well for reaching 600. But we’ll take it one block at a time. 

Here they are, pinned in the corner of the design board with the 3 sets (of 15) from last blog post. All the others have already been given to QFK except my Christmas blocks. 

After Weathervanes is a top, I’ll sew a backing and then it, together with my Windmills quilt top shown last week, will be pin basted. Hopefully that will be this week if my back cooperates. It’s been so stiff and sore (arthritis), that I’ve spent too much time with ice packs and heating pads. This getting old sh** is for the birds! But the past flare-ups have always passed, so I’m hopeful (and maybe naive). 

Next up in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge “finishing pipeline” will be these Night Flying Geese blocks. Stay tuned!

The last bit of news that I have is that my first knee replacement surgery will take place on Thursday, December 4. I’ll talk more about that as the time approaches. 

Have a good week, my friends! Linking up to Scrappy Saturday.

Welcome November!

It wouldn’t be autumn in my house without string blocks. Along with pumpkins and falling leaves, it seems I’m always working on sewing up (or sewing down?) my big scrap bucket of strings every autumn. This past week saw me churn out another 45 blocks, to bring my string fall frenzy total to 378. I’m 63% of the way to my goal of 600 blocks by year-end at the halfway point in time. It finally seems as though the string bucket has “lost some weight”. So now I can switch from worrying about keeping up to worrying about whether there will be enough strings to complete 600 blocks. And if I don’t make it, it’s all good, right?

One of my sewing days evaporated away this week when Bruce’s mild toothache began raging. News Alert, Dear Hubby: tooth issues don’t heal themselves. So off we went to the dentist where Bruce had n emergency root canal. Next week Alfie (our orange tabby) also goes in for “teeth cleaning”, but they identified a problem tooth/gum area in his annual vet visit last month, so he may be in for a dental surprise as well. 

Anyway, I did finish off this basic bright squares donation quilt. It measures 35.5”x48.5”. 

The quilting was a basic straight-stitch crosshatch with a serpentine stitch along the vertical and horizontal seamlines. 

It’s going to Quilts for Kids, of course (because I don’t like or want it, hehehe). That was my third quilt finish for October. No wait, in checking my records, it was my fifth finish. Apparently I never took pictures of the finished Pastel Little Bricks and Bright Little Bricks quilts. I finished those after ny Halloween Quilt but before the Little Strippie shown last week. Sheesh, what’s happened to my mind? 

I do like how these “Windmill” blocks came together into a fun flimsy. I’ve been calling them windmills because they have blades. But is that their proper name? Wait. I just asked Google, and the images for Windmill blocks are many and varied. Yes, this is a proper (and popular) iteration of windmills. So there you go! 

This one will get basted this week (hopefully), along with this new set of Weathervane blocks that just went up on the design wall. I plan to web it this afternoon, but this morning I’ll be planting my spring tulip and daffodil bulbs. 

And next up for its turn to be quilted is the Paint Chips quilt. Maybe that will happen on Sunday, if I can put off sewing string blocks for a few days, LOL!

So, it’s a full day ahead and a full upcoming week as well. We’re sure having a beautiful autumn, but I know the cold and rain are right around the corner. Stay safe and sew on, my friends!

Linking up to Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

P.S. - Go Dodgers!!!! (But it’s been a great World Series regardless of who wins).