Drive-By Post!

There’s not much to report here this week in the way of any news, creative or otherwise. It’s just been crazy and busy - and I developed “pink eye” (conjunctivitis) and an infected tear duct that is finally clearing up with meds. So, minimal sewing and reading for me. But still - housework, yardwork, meetings and appointments. But I do have two pictures to share.

We were invited over to Bruce’s ex-wife’s place for a small family gathering to say goodbye to grandson Deacon (tallest guy in back row), who was leaving on a 2-year mission the next day for his church. He will be in the Kansas City mission.

Back row: Abbie, Gunner (the redhead!) and Deacon - daughter Emily’s kids
Front row (daughter Stacy’s kids): Remi, Oakley, Bear, Evie and Hunter

I sewed another batch of 15 string blocks in purple, but I don’t have a picture. Strings is strings, eh? It’s comfort sewing for me, and I just turn on some music and float away to a happy place. 

The Fan of the Library quilt is now a completed top measuring something like 55x66. Don’t quote me on that. Once it’s quilted, I’ll have the official numbers. I also pieced a backing. 

Now, since I want to quilt this one myself, I have to pin baste it and make some quilting design decisions. I’d like to practice some feathers on it after watching Angela Walter’s feather quilting series on her YouTube channel. Wish me luck.

Today I’m off to work awhile in the courtyard. I've got weeds to hoe, roses to deadhead and fertilizing to do. I may even repot some of my houseplants that need it. And then - sewing all afternoon. At least, that’s the plan. There may also be a Barnes & Noble coffee date in the afternoon. life is good!

Linking to Scrappy Saturday for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

To Arizona and Back

We arrived home to the Salt Lake Valley last Sunday, after a 9-day vacation in Tubac, AZ. Tubac is located verrrrry south in Arizona, about a 20 minute drive north of the Mexico border. All of Bruce’s three remaining siblings live there, and we hadn’t visited since just before the COVID pandemic in 2020. 

Overall it was a nice trip, but from now on we’ll fly from Salt Lake to Tucson, then rent a car for the remaining 1-hour drive. Driving two days each way in the car is too long for these old bones!! But we did take a new route and saw some new scenery and towns and cities, so that was interesting. I’ll spare you all the scenery pictures except this one, taken near Kanab, Utah.

All the rest of my scenery photos had bad reflections on them. And half the time I was driving, so couldn’t take pictures. Cousin Kim drove the other half of the time as she came with us and Bruce no longer drives. I should clarify that Cousin Kim isn’t really our cousin; she’s our niece and is my age. Her mom was Faye, Bruce’s oldest sister who passed in 2005. We stayed with Bruce’s other sister Annette, who is 2 years older than Bruce. Annette’s husband Glenn died just after Christmas, a month after my brother Steve passed. So we were all glad to see one another. At our ages (seventies, and Annette is 80), visiting opportunities are winding down. 

The above photo is Annette and Glenn’s house. They moved here, downsizing from a 5-acre property in another area of town. This home looks little, but it’s about 1800 sq ft. The lot, however, is small and backs up to the golf course. 

In the mornings, we’d sit out in the backyard pictured below, drink our coffee, talk, take in the view and check out their flowering cacti. It was pleasantly warm, with each day getting up into the mid-80’sF (25-26C). 

This cactus opened one evening and bloomed until the following evening. One day! So beautiful, but sad to me in a sort of Brigadoon way.

This is Annette’s front screen door. The colored wavy lines between the iron bars are just screen mesh refracting the light.

And here is Annette. She doesn’t like her picture being taken, so we had to be sneaky with our candids.

 We were supposed to meet Bruce’s brothers for lunch, but they got their days mixed up and were no-shows. We had seen them briefly earlier in the week. Here’s the 4 of us at the restaurant without them.

L-R: Bruce, Cathy, Annette, Kim

On to quilting……

When I got home from AZ, Ruby (who had been coming in daily to feed Alfie and Darla) had dropped off the other 3 little quilts she’d quilted for me. Actually for Quilts for Kids. So I got all three bound and labeled.

Isn’t the quilting just perfect with the backing?!? 

Ruby quilted the next one with daisies. The quilt itself is rather blah from a distance.

But up close it’s a cute print and very vibrant and colorful. 

The last quilt is this little yellow and orange number. She quilted it with these rather odd swirls that she wanted to try. Yes, we routinely experiment with quilt patterns and colors on QFK donation quilts!

The little quilt pinned below is now a webbed top. I’ll hunt up or piece a backing for it and it will become the first of the next batch of kid quilts I’ve got in the works. The focal fabric of little bonnet girls is a scrap I saw in Ruby’s stash  - a literal hoard of dozens of plastic tote bins she’d bought at a quilter’s estate sale.  Then Cousin Kim had the same fabric in a chunk piece she was going to get rid of. Between the two chunks, I had enough to cut out the 31 squares at 6.5”. 

I tried out several pinks, orangey-apricots, soft greens and neutrals for the two other alternating colors. The pink isn’t as dark as it looks in the picture. I’ll try to get a more accurate color depiction when the quilt reaches the finish line.

This week also featured dentist appointments, a mammogram, and a visit from the plumber (Cousin Kim’s son Nick, actually) to fix the toilets - not used while we were gone, and the old parts in the tanks failed. They all have new “guts” now. That’s the extent of my plumbing knowledge!

By Friday afternoon, I managed to find time to piece the first of two pink Rolling Stone blocks. There is one more to make next week, along with strings blocks and crumb blocks. I’m linking up to Scrappy Saturday for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

Rolling Stone

Speaking of strings, my friend Judy of the Busy Hands are Happy Hands blog sent me 12 crumb blocks for Quilts for Kids. I added three of my crumb blocks and Voila! The set of 15 crumb blocks are all packed up for my QFK workshop this morning. Sorry I didn’t get a picture, but thanks so very much, Judy! 

Next week is crazy: Monday is the HOA board meeting. I attend only the 1-hour general session to get news for the HOA newsletter I write. Tuesday is Weight Watchers and shopping for a new sport coat for Bruce, Wednesday is the probate hearing for my brother’s estate, on Thursday my daughter Megan flies in from Seattle and stays over, and Saturday is Grandson Easton’s wedding. 

And I forgot to mention that I’ll be having my second knee surgery (left knee total replacement) on Monday, May 18. I need want to get my flower garden in before that, but there are VA visits for Bruce, pre-op visits for me, Bruce’s birthday, the HOA Cinco de Mayo celebration, the closing of the sale of my brother’s house, and on and on. I think maybe being laid up for at least 2 weeks after the surgery may be a welcome respite! But don’t quote me on that!

Sewing Again

My Bernina 570QE finally came back from the shop from her annual “spa” visit. It took exactly a month, but it really was good timing.  I was not sewing during my surgery (right total knee replacement) or the first couple weeks of recovery. Now I’m at three weeks past and can move around more. We will have our regular last meeting of the year for the Church of Bernina here at my house on Sunday. Woo-hoo.

Thank you to the dear hearts who reached out while I was on “sabbatical”. I owe you all letters, and I promise I am working on them. Please be patient with me. I get tired easily, but again, I see improvement week by week, so that pushes me forward. A note to those just tuning in today, I did write a lengthy post yesterday about the last three weeks - surgery, family passing, etc. It’s not quilt related and if you’re not interested, well that’s cool. If you are, you can scroll back to yesterday’s post. For today, all I have to add to the saga is that we received a phone call Friday morning that Bruce’s sister Annette was at the hospital with her husband Glenn who was passing from heart failure. We are on tenterhooks waiting for more information. He is in our prayers and hearts (and tears - they come so easily this month).  This has already become an infamous December in our family (and our country). 2026 cannot come soon enough. 

I do have one finish to share. My friend Ruby has a longarm, and she quilted two of my last Rainbow Scrap Challenge finishes for me this week. I’ve got them both trimmed, but only one is completely finished. I apologize for the picture. It was windy and ominous outside on Friday, and my DH Bruce, with only one arm, can’t hold up my quilts! So I spread it out on our bed and did what I could.

The quilting is random hearts - so cute! It will be a gift for my housekeeper Sandy.

The weathervane blocks were one of my 2025 RSC blocks. The quilt finished at 48.5 x 60”

I love the backing fabric I used, but had to supplement it with a green batik stripe. Do you see the sweet affirmations in the floral print?

I have been taking a monthly BOM (Block of the Month) class with Ruby and Cousin Kim and Niece Jenny, and Ruby’s half-sister Cathy and a lady from our Weight Watcher’s workshop. Even Jenny’s  daughter Lily (age 14) has joined us. It’s a jolly fun group, even if the class is a repeat for Kim and me. We began in September, and have done 4 blocks so far. I will try to show them two at a time for the next couple posts, but couldn’t get decent pictures yet, so that will have to wait.

Next week will begin 2026 and the start of a new year for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I will be participating, as I’ve done for over 10 years. I have one carryover block to continue working on and another 2-3 I may add to the lineup. As well, I have a wedding quilt to begin soon if I ever want to get it done by April! And then there is my box of 36+ self-made quilt kits (kid-sized)  that I’ll be tackling this year, hopefully finishing 1-3 of those per month. I’ll probably start slower than usual, but I’m determined to make a major dent in the stash this year. 

I’ll leave you with a picture of our Christmas Brunch with my son Ryan, DIL Kim and family. 

L- R: Granddaughter Lauren and her fiancé Graham, DIL Kim, son Ryan, me, Bruce

Have a wonderful New Year celebration, and I wish you all good health and happiness in 2026.

Some Pink Sewing

Hello friends! I was happy to finish up two of my chosen monthly blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week. For the month of May, we are focusing on beating back our pink scraps. My pink scraps somehow manage to multiply when I’m not looking, so there’s no chance of clearing them all out this month! But I did manage to sew up:

Three Color Sticks Blocks:

and two Windmill Blocks:

This week was once again filled with errands and gatherings and contractors. I’ll spare you all the details, but the highlights included Bruce’s birthday (we had a lovely dinner at a fancy restaurant), my annual physical (all is well), a visit from family who helped us hang the last of the pictures and things (until after the remodel, anyway), more contractors - plumbers, landscapers (checking out the sprinkler system valve), and a coffee date with a new friend. And several walks around the lush, green condo grounds. 

Next week we meet to finalize plans with one of the bidding kitchen contractors and possibly sign a contract if all goes well. Fingers crossed! I have two gatherings with women friends next week, plus a couple of friends (a couple we used to pal around with) from the old neighborhood are coming over one evening to see the new place. 

Friend Ruby and I will be taking a public tour of the new Mormon Temple that’s been built here in the Salt Lake Valley. The LDS Church always lets the public tour (much of it) before a new temple is officially dedicated. Ruby has been once already and says the paintings, stained glass, woodwork and sheer artistry throughout is incredible and awe-inspiring. And this morning (Saturday) Bruce and I spent a couple hours with the young couple who bought our old home to give them a crash course on drip irrigation and help them out. They also invited us to come in and check out some of the changes they’ve made. They’re such sweethearts, and we had a good time. They don’t have any local family, so we feel good about being a safety net and source of information to them on the house and yard. 

Our grandson Easton - the one who’s a Nuclear Engineer in the Navy - got home from a duty assignment a couple weeks ago. Here’s a picture of his submarine coming in to port. 

Easton and Madalyn driving home after being apart for a few weeks. I love this picture!!

This weekend I begin sewing sashings and cornerstones to the Anne of Green Gables quilt blocks I’m making. Hopefully I can get the quilt top partly or even mostly assembled this coming week. 

Oh! Bruce and I took a couple hours to assemble a new cat condo for Darla and Alfalfa one afternoon. The cats were good inspectors, and promptly took up residence. They seem to really like it. Darla insisted that I get some pictures of it and them next week. Who am I to refuse a direct order from our feline overlords?

Linking up to Scrappy Saturday for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Have a great week!

Frozen in Place

This week has been a bit of a low-key crawl through days. Cold, rain, snow, ice, wind. Cousin Carrie, who was diagnosed in the early autumn with pancreatic and liver cancer lost her battle with cancer on Monday night. That pretty much set the tone for the week (along with Mother Nature). We’re all still trying to take it in. This afternoon there will be a family pot luck gathering at her daughter Jenny’s house where we can all come together and just be with each other. 

So this week’s accomplishments are limited. On Monday during the day (before we learned of Carrie’s last hours), I ran around buying paint and new welcome mats, visiting the pet store (new litter box for the cats), going home store shopping for decorator accent pieces and cushions for staging the house, and going to Costco to get gas for the car and buying a case of tissues for Bruce’s never-ending cold. Or whatever it is. He went to Instacare yesterday and they were stumped. *sigh*

On Tuesday, I sewed and did laundry and vegetated. On Wednesday, Cousin Kim (Carrie’s sister) and I met up, went to a coffee shop and drank coffee and talked all morning. I took her home (her car was getting serviced) and came home from her place with lots of new empty boxes for future packing…

On Thursday I deep cleaned some rooms of the house - in preparation for moving around some furniture - and some sewing. Yesterday (Friday) was grocery shopping and lots of paperwork. 

So, I’ll show you what little I have. 

I sewed three more blocks for the Anne quilt I’m making for a friend. Now I have five done of twenty needed. I had intended to have at least 10 done this week, but oh well.  At least there’s lots of green in the blocks, so I can link up to Scrappy Saturday! 

And I worked on Scrap Kit #19, pictured here to refresh your memory. 

As Christmas Approaches

Our week started off last Saturday with a fun visit from our (Bruce’s) daughter Stacy and her three daughters. Her hubby Chad had to work and the two boys were ill. The six of us went out to lunch and then the girls got to clean out the toy cupboard and keep whatever they wanted. The younger two grabbed the princesses and crayons, markers and stencils for their art. But then grandma (me) brought out a large shoebox-ful of ribbons and trims from my crazy quilting and embroidery/embellishment days. These were just the ones that were headed to the thrift store, not the good vintage, silk and expensive ribbons. Those are going to my friend Flora. 

The girls thought they’d died and gone to heaven and dug into the ribbons right away. But then Grandpa Bruce sat down on the floor and they began to decorate him. Mom Stacy had a good laugh as we snapped photos because she and her sister Emily used to do this back in the day when they were little. Stacy sent a photo to Emily who laughed and replied “That brings back memories!” Indeed. As the family lore goes, when Emily and Stacy were little, they were doing Bruce’s then-brown hair by putting curlers in. Of course, someone knocked at the door and Bruce answered it with curlers in his hair. It was a police officer who was canvassing neighbors about something or other. Bruce said the officer looked at him and didn’t bat an eye. He must have had little girls himself! Anyway, here are our granddaughters Remi and Evie doing grandpa’s hair! 

In sewing news, I finished the last two dozen or so Zipper blocks for my very own personal quilt. These blocks, designed by Lynn Dykstra of Klein Meisje Quilts, finish at 6x9”. I have 72 of them which will be set 9 across (54”) by 8 down (72”). This is my fourth Zip quilt, and I’m determined that this one will be for us to keep, not donated or gifted. Here are some of my favorite blocks:

Click on the pix to enlarge them. Anyway, these are now bagged and ready for assembly in the new year. For the rest of this month I want to concentrate on finishing up a couple more Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) quilts from blocks I’ve made this year. Oh, and I need to make more string blocks in the next couple weeks - about 60 or so - to meet my goal of 400 string blocks in the last calendar quarter.

I did have a quilt finish this week, though. This delightful and colorful Chaser Block quilt. I would do this one again in a heartbeat! 

There was also some progress this week on sewing the Thrifty RSC blocks together. I just have two borders to sew on, and one of those is sewn together and just waiting to be attached. It’s hanging there on the left in the picture below. 

So then it will be quick work to sew on the bottom border to finish off the top. I then hope to baste this and the third (of three) Framed Four Patch quilt tops. Don’t know if I’ll be able to quilt them during the coming week or not.

Did You Know??? “Xmas” is NOT Disrespectful!

The term Xmas comes from the Greek letter Chi (X) the initial letter in the word Χριστός (Chrīstos) meaning Christ. And the word Xmas actually predates the word Christmas by centuries. While the use of Xmas peaked in the 1950’s, it is still commonly used, although not in formal settings. And it’s not part of a (fictitional) “war on Christmas”. See this Dictionary.com entry HERE to explain it more thoroughly. So, use it or not as you prefer, but please don’t get your knickers in a twist over it! This is my public announcement for this year to spread a little cheer and peace!! 

And speaking of Christmas, everything is done. All the gifts are wrapped (easy when you have bags and envelopes for gift cards). The out-of state things are mailed. The Christmas decorations have been sifted through and donated or are actually decorating the house! Meal planning is done. Parties are underway! Here is a photo from our Weight Watchers card group Christmas gathering.

L-R: Linda, Ruby, Lory, me, Lisa and Annette. Ellie is photographer.

We ate shrimp, veggies, fruit, and a great light pudding parfait that Linda made. Ruby brought the silly headbands for us. That huge pink sweater I’m wearing is definitely oversized - it’s a Medium. Ruby and I should’ve stood up, because we are both at goal. Actually, I’m about 4 pounds under goal now, and heading down to lose another 7 pounds. I’ll be careful during the Holidays and focus on those last pounds in 2024.

This past week saw Bruce and me make yet another trek to the thrift store. This week we donated kitchen stuff (more to come, I’m sure), old Christmas decorations, toys, a bird cage, clothes and towels. Who knows what will be in the next load! And when we get tired of sorting sh-stuff, we cruise potential neighborhoods to move to, sew (me), read (Bruce) and watch Christmas movies. Life is good!

Wedding, New Car, Sewing Progress

Wow, what a week! It has been almost nonstop go-go-go. But it’s all good!

On Saturday evening of last week, we attended the wedding of Bruce’s younger daughter Stacy to her fiancé Chad. This is the second marriage for both.  Here is Bruce walking the lovely bride down the grass “aisle”. The wedding was held in their backyard, and the weather was perfect! It was very casual and absolutely lovely and fun.

The ceremony was short and sweet, then the music, food and beverages (alcoholic and non) were brought out. There were so many extended family members on our side that we hadn’t seen in years, so it was nice to catch up. And Chad’s (the groom) family were so friendly and warm as well. It was just such a pleasant evening.

The Wedding Party 
Back Row, L-R, Hunter (Stacy’s oldest), Aleisha (Chad’s daughter), Stacy, Chad and Aleisha’s best friend, whom Chad said is like a daughter to him
Front Row (all Stacy’s kids): Evie, Bear, Oakley and Remi in pink

The guys: Hunter, Groom Chad, Bear (who was Ring Bearer)

On Sunday, Cousin Kim and friend Ruby came over as usual, and we sewed the day away. It’s always so fun and relaxing to laugh, sew, listen to music and even squeeze in a bit of puzzle-making with friends. 

Monday saw us working out in the yard All. Day. Well, almost all day. I did come inside about mid-afternoon to finally get a shower and start tackling Mt. Washmore.

Tuesday morning was my Weight Watchers weigh-in as usual. I’m a mere point six (.6) away from my goal. Total weight loss to date: 63.8 pounds. Once I hit that goal, my Lifetime Membership will be restored (no monthly fees!). I plan to lose another 11 pounds after that so I can have a total loss of 75 pounds. That will give me a little leeway in minor weight fluctuations without having to stress about losing that Lifetime status again! 

On Tuesday, Bruce and I began car shopping for me. We’ve been a one-vehicle family for several years. We figured that once we retired and his arm was amputated, one car would be plenty. But now that we’re in the process of getting divorced (very amicable, don’t feel sorry for us), we realized we’d need to get another car. On Wednesday, we purchased this 2021 Nissan Kicks for me. It has low miles, a pristine Carfax history and title, and was very clean. I would’ve preferred a lighter or brighter color, but I’m totally thrilled with my new baby.

   

But you’re probably here to see what was happening in my sewing studio this week, and I’m pleased to say that it was, at least, SOMEthing. 

More 4.5” Christmas Stars were sewn. As well, I decided that where I could, I would replace some of the little stars with squares of red print, low-contrast (with the red background) fabric. I think that will save me from having to make about 16-18 of the 89 small stars I’m working towards. Also, Cousin Kim has volunteered to help me churn out a few stars, so we’re hoping to finish those off by mid-October. 

Here are the three sizes of stars for comparison. Naturally, I’m only showing a few of the 19 large stars and a few of the 50 medium (8”) stars. The quilt will finish at roughly 90x96”, or something like that. I’ll give you more of the details as the top gets closer to a finish. 

Once the stars are all sewn, it should be only a day or two (hopefully) to get the top assembled. Then I can hand it off to the quilter before the end of October so I can have it back by Thanksgiving weekend. I want to be able to give it to son Ryan and daughter-in-law Kim so that they can have it on their bed this Christmas season.

Finally, I did get the aqua strings quilt top sewn together as was my goal this week.

I have the perfect piece of aqua fabric with bright dots on it for the backing. Perhaps I can get this basted this week, along with a scrappy quilt top I made a couple weeks ago at the Quilts for Kids workshop. Come to think of it, I’ve never shown that top, but I will soon enough. 

That’s about it for now. Has fall arrived where you are? Our temps dipped on Friday, and it was positively frigid here. The furnace even kicked on. But it’s supposed to warm up to the high seventies for next week. I believe that is an early Indian Summer for us, and I hope it lasts. It just feels to me as though this is going to be another long, cold, snowy winter. We’re busy “gathering our nuts and acorns” - which means harvesting the remaining tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and potatoes. It sure has been good eating (and sharing) from the garden this year.

Linking up to Scrappy Saturday for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

Dancing in September

I love September! The worst heat of the summer is behind us, as is most of the work in the garden.  Speaking of the garden, I went out on Thursday morning and harvested vegetables (it had been three days, yikes!). There were lots of Armenian cucumbers that were ready; at least 8. Plus I had to throw three giant ones into the compost pile. Thursday was also my granddaughter London’s birthday, and she and her dad (my son Shane) were over in the evening for dinner out and a tour of the garden. At that time, I found another monster cucumber growing that I had missed and had to throw away. Then on Friday morning, I decided to make another trip out to the garden, and what did I harvest? Seven more cucumbers! Plus another giant for the compost pile.

I tell you, zucchini has NOTHING on these prolific cucumbers. Every week I’m taking at least a dozen to my Weight Watchers meeting. The neighbors, like Bruce, are getting tired of cucumbers!! Three Armenian cucumber plants could feed a third world country. I’m afraid to go out there this morning. We have a running joke this year that if an hour or two has passed, one of us should go out and check the cucumbers......

During the last week, it was my goal to finish the last 9 of the 50 needed 8” Sawtooth Stars for the Christmas Stars quilt I’m making. Here are my “FIFTY”. Can you see the problem?

Yeah, so someone (who shall remain nameless) apparently forgot to cut out the last ten block parts. So, in sewing the “last nine”, it brought me up to 40, not 50. Oh snap! *facepalm* And I had so wanted to be done with this size star in August. It looks like I’ll be sewing the actual last ten 8” blocks over the next week. Toward that goal, I DID get them cut out for real.

But there was one finish this week - the On the Farm little quilt I was making with the yellow string blocks (the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for August) and other pieces from my stash. This little cutie finished at 38x43.5”.

I had just enough of the darling farm fabric for the squares and border, and just enough chambray for the inner stop border and the backing/binding. I love it when a plan comes together! Here’s a closeup of the print (and the simple stipple quilting):

The backing and label:

September will be dedicated to our Aqua and Teal scraps in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but other than sorting my scraps I haven’t really started sewing with them yet. I think I’m being held back by cucumbers. At least, that’s my story....

When Londy and her dad were here on Thursday, she decided she wanted to go out in the front yard and snap some photos. She had left her own cell phone home (voluntarily! She’s 14 - is that normal?). Anyway, she snapped some photos in the front flower beds with her dad’s phone, and I’m going to share a few here (unedited) to close out the post. Have a great week!

See the bumblebee?

.... off to check on the cucumbers. If I’m not back by next week, call for help....