A Pain in the Neck

With the title of this blog post, you might think I’m talking about either the cats or some local teenager, but this is actually a literal pain in my neck. It’s getting better now, and I’ll talk about it later in the post, but first let’s move on to something more interesting....

I was able to baste and finish the Squared Away quilt, and it turned out nicely. Squared Away was the challenge quilt that Mari of Academic Quilter and Angela, the Rainbow Scrap Challenge hostess, set out for us this year. This finish happened BNI (before neck issue).

It finished at 56x56” and is my 19th quilt finish this year. That’s how many I did in all of 2017, so any finishes from here to the end of the year will go toward a personal best. You can see my quilts on my quilts page, link below the header. Anyway, this one will go into the donation pile after it gets laundered.

Squared Away is Goal #6 in my 4th Quarter Goals for the 2018 Finish Along. My list is HERE.  The 4th quarter finish linky party is HERE.

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And if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you have probably seen this picture of Darla and Alfalfa.

Well, I had heard that Melissa Averinos, an accomplished quilter, did kitty portraits. Barbara over at Three Cats Ranch had a picture of Smitty (and later Sadie) done by Melissa. So, I posted the above picture on Instagram with the tag #melissapaintmycat and she did!

Isn’t it adorable??  When she paints the picture, you have the option to purchase it at a greatly discounted rate from her normal prices. Naturally, how could I resist?  The picture arrived this week and Bruce and I love it!  I’m going to get it framed and hang it in the kitties’ bedroom (formerly known as the guest bedroom, LOL).  Check out @melissaaverinos on Instagram, or @wierdcatsforever.

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Here is where my next quilting project stands (or hangs) for now. It’s the California Poppies quilt blocks that I won from the August Block Lotto.  The top is all pieced except for the outer border with cornerstones.

I won 40 blocks and added eight more for a total of 48. Then I did a traditional setting and added sashing and cornerstones.

I hope to get California Poppies finished this week, if my neck and arms cooperate and continue healing. I’ve been resting for a couple days and want to get back into sewing very gingerly, avoiding any repetitive movements (like pin-basting a quilt). Time to try out my quilt basting spray!



OK, so the neck..... Last Monday Bruce and I worked furiously in the garden to prepare for winter. While he pulled out all the vegetables plants (after we’d harvested the last of everything), I trimmed the grape vines and climbing roses in the backyard. Then he began mulching everything (he has a chipper) and I cleared the yards of remaining decorations and moved in all the patio furniture. Then I swept. His part took about five hours, mine only about 2 1/2.














But by the next day, my neck (I have TOS or Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) and shoulders were hurting and starting to swell. My right hand was numb on-and-off, which spread to my entire right arm. And the back of my neck was numb. Obviously, there was a pinched nerve there, too. I couldn’t get in to my doctor (out until Monday, when I have an appointment anyway), and his replacement was double booked. I got on a waiting list, but knew I’d have to figure it out myself.

So, it was several days of rest, lots of Advil and Tylenol (great together), and a heating pad.  Rinse and repeat. And it is getting better. I even managed some grocery shopping today (Friday as I write this) and some laundry.  But I tell you, the gods are having a field day with me this week. My shower wouldn’t drain this morning, so I bought some Liquid Plummer and took care of that. Then the clog must’ve moved down the line to the laundry room, because as the washer drained during the third and final load of laundry, the overflow pipe spewed water all over. I’ll let Bruce deal with that when he gets home......

Let’s end this post on a good note. One day this past week we went up to Bountiful to visit our friend Terri (the widow of Bruce’s lifelong best friend Mike, and one of the band members of their group The Muddy Gutter Boys, who performed together for over 50 years).  We went to lunch and gabbed and got caught up with the family happenings. Absolutely delightful, as always. Terri has been on a pumpkin-making binge, as well as crocheting little blankets for the local mortuary to use for infant angels. Way to go, Terri!  Here are the three pumpkins that she let Bruce and I pick out from her Pumpkins for Friends Stash. I posed them on the floor in the living room....  And of course, Darla was right there to see what was happening.

What have we here, Mom?

Hmmm.... this pumpkin stalk smells more like a cinnamon stick

Now, doesn’t my face impurrove the picture??

Dancing in September - IN OCTOBER

Hi friends! I hope you’ve had a lovely autumn weekend. For those of you impacted by Hurricane Michael in Florida, the Carolinas and other areas, I hope your experience was mild and that you and your families and belongings are all safe. How can anyone doubt that the climate is changing when these horrific storms occur now on such a regular basis? I hope you’re registered to vote and that you will give serious thought to supporting candidates whose heads are not buried in the sand on this issue. But enough said of that...... we’ve got scrappy business to attend to!

First out of the gate is my second quilt finish of the month. This one is a Rainbow Scrap project that I started a year or two ago. After showing the flimsy (in a post called Dancing in September, named after the Earth, Wind and Fire music I was listening to) and remarking how the piecing of it made me happy while I listed to music and danced in the September sunshine streaming in the studio (couldn’t resist the alliteration), my friend Louise suggested that I name the quilt Dancing in September. Thanks, Louise! Although it’s now October, may I present the finished Dancing in September.

Dancing in September finished at 65x73” and was quilted using a simple stipple. The backing is a great black and white windowpane fabric I got somewhere (Connecting Threads?) and the binding used up the last of a green print I had left over in my stash. I am so in love with this quilt!! It’s a keeper.

This is my OMG - One Monthly Goal - for October. Now that it’s done, I can link up to Patty’s Finish-up Linky Party at Elm Street Quilts.

It’s also Goal #1 on my 2018 Quarter 4 Finish-Along Goal List. YAY!! See the quarterly linky party here.

And last, but definitely not least, I’m linking up to Rainbow Scrap Saturday, because this was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. Today at Angela’s blog we’re having some serious October sharing’ O’ the green. Our color this month is medium to dark greens, plus dark neutrals. Sew ‘em if you got ‘em!

My plan this month is to get all my RSC green blocks sewn up as quickly as possible. Since this is the last month of color before we spend the last two months of the year completing our projects, I wanted to get those done and out of the way. I’m anxious to begin sewing all the RSC projects together!

So, here are the last four (of the 31 needed) birds for Birds in the Lattice. I hope to begin assembly of this quilt during this 4th quarter.

Next up were my Squared Away blocks. First, I made one additional green block from the March pattern (the top one in the picture below), then two blocks from the pattern Mari and Angela gave us for this month.

I got so excited about these now being done, that I put them up on the design wall. And sewed them together!  I even used my reject block (left column, middle blue one). It looks like I still have to add the 1” white stop border! This is next up to be basted and will finish at 56x56”.

Moving along with more green blocks, I sewed up my strings and ended up with 18 quarter log cabin blocks at 6.5” unfinished.

That brings my total of quarter logs up to 138. I only needed 120 for my original plan, so it looks as though I will be able to enlarge it! Another project that’s waiting in the wings for later this quarter.

And finally, I used my green crumbs to make eight 6.5” crumb blocks. For the project I have in mind, I will need this blocks in multiples of four. That means I’m good in the dark green department, but will have to review my other colors and add between 1-3 of several colors. That means this project, working title “Crumbcakes”, will carry over into 2019.

So, this coming week my goals are:
1.  Sew the borders on the Squared Away, and baste. Quilt and bind.
2.  Sew the California Poppies flimsy (already started, no picture today) and baste it.
3.  Sew the black and white checkered round to All You Need is Love.
4.  Sew the pink hearts round to All You Need is Love.
5.  Finish the plan for my rainbow scrap selvage blocks and pick a background fabric.
6.  Sew black and gray selvage squares for Item #5 if needed.

That should keep me busy!!

2018 Finish-Along Quarter 4 Goals

Last quarter I wasn’t able to link up my Finish-Along list because I was in Africa with limited wifi. But I played along anyway, and finished up five out of my ten goals, all of them quilts.  And two of the others are close to being done.

This quarter, with no travel planned and the garden chores winding down for the season, I expect that I’ll have lots more creative time. So here are my 4th Quarter finishing goals. I’m linking up (early!!) to the Finish-Along Quarter 4 Goals post HERE.


1.   Bowties Quilt, AKA “Dancing in September”

FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE.

Dancing in September (thanks, Louise, for the name idea!) is a flimsy that just needs to be  quilted and bound.

2.  All You Need is Love

FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE.

This one, a Christmas present for my daughter, is farther along than it was a couple months ago. After I’ve added the checkerboard round, which is half made and the hearts round (all 54 hearts already sewn), there will just be one more round of 8.5” blocks and a final stop border.

3.  On Ringo Lake

This is Bonnie Hunter’s 2017 Mystery Quilt, and the 2018 mystery will begin soon. I’ve got all the components done, now just need to finish piecing the blocks, etc. etc.  If there is a goal on this list that demonstrates that I believe in miracles, this one is it.

4.  Let it Snow

FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE.

This has been on my list for a year or two, but this is the season to finish it up! I have a place on my living room wall and a wall hanger for it. No more excuses. Besides, it’s so cute and so close to being done!!!

5.  Apron for Me

FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE.

This was on my list last quarter, and I had the best of intentions, but the quilts were screaming louder at me.  I’m hoping the added sewing time this quarter will let this project get priority, because day-um! I need a new apron!!

6.   Squared Away Sampler

FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE.

I thought I had a picture somewhere that showed all the blocks we’ve made this year for our 2018 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Squared Away Sampler. But I don’t, so this picture of my two September blocks will have to do. I’ve completed about 21 blocks out of 25 I’ll need. We’ll do more in October, and I’ll add the last two or three by going back and picking up an old color and pattern to finish it off. Then it’s a simple matter of assembly to get ‘er done!

7.   California Poppies

FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE.

I won 40 blocks in the Block Lotto in August. Eight of them were mine, below. I drew up a plan and needed an additional 8 blocks, all of which are already sewn as I write this. Now I just need to sew the blocks and sashing into a flimsy, then quilt and bind. So, it’s totally do-able to get done this month.

8.  Birds in the Lattice

All the lattice (Irish Chain) blocks are made, as are all the birds except the last 4 green ones. I should be able to knock those out easily and begin assembly of this quilt top soon. Then there is the question of whether I whether I will quilt it myself or have it professionally done. I’m leaning toward the latter. So whether it can be complete by the end of the quarter will depend on the timing and the Holidays...

9.  Selvage Quilt

TWO OF THEM FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE!

I have 126 (so far) selvage blocks measuring 6.5”.  I also have a plan to assemble them into a top. I’d really like to get this off my plate this quarter.

10.   Quarter Log Cabin Quilt (needs a snappy name!)

FINISHED AND BLOGGED ABOUT HERE.

I have 138 of these  6.5” blocks, way more than I’ll need for a 10x12 setting (60x72”). So I may enlarge that and sew a few more blocks. I have a design plan for this, so if I get to it, it will be fun to play with all the colors and see how they all play together.

That’s it for this quarter. I do have one more quilt in process that has all the blocks sewn; however, I need blocks in groups of 4 for the design I have in mind. So, that one will likely be carried over to next year when I can add blocks as needed by color during the 2019 Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

My hope is to finish at least 7 out of these 10 by the end of the year.

Seven Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

You’ve all probably seen or at least heard of the 1970’s classic film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring Jack Nicholson. The title is actually based on an old rhyme about geese (for quilters, that would be flying geese, hehe)

One flew east

One flew west

One flew over the cuckoo’s nest

So, this week in my sewing room (AKA the Cuckoo’s Nest), seven birds flew over. And all of them are in shades of dark blue (mostly), the color of the month for our Rainbow Scrap Challenge. If you follow the link to Angela’s Scrappy Saturday linky party, you can see what the other cuckoos, er, I mean quilters, are sharing from their nests!

Since I planned for this quilt to have a preponderance (I love that word!!) of blue, and had only made two birds back when we did light blue in January, I had seven more to stitch up this month. Mission accomplished. Here is the entire flock of nine bluebirds, hanging out together. 

They were a bit worried being out in the open like this, given that two felines (who shall remain nameless) live in the house. But we got the picture snapped and the birds tucked safely back into their work-in-process cubbyhole. 

The birds will be interspersed with Irish Chain blocks for a queen-sized quilt. My plan is to stitch as many of the remaining 28 Irish Chain blocks as possible next week. I need a total of 32 and have only done 4. So, the chain blocks plus sewing my crumb blocks in the remaining medium-to-dark blue scraps are on the agenda.

I’ve also basted the Orange Lozenges quilt (no picture) and started the quilting on it. That will finish up this week as well. And right now the design board has the second half of my bow tie blocks on it, so I’m hoping to get that flimsy pieced this week. No pressure. Gulp.

But getting back to this week, there was more than just birds flying out from under the needle. I sewed a replacement block for my Squared Away Sampler to match the first one, so here they are together. The wild and crazy one I showed last time is resting comfortably in the Parts Department.

And then I laid waste to my blue scraps and strings by making twenty (20!!) of these 8.5” quarter log cabin blocks.  These are just so much fun to make! 

Right now I have all 120 of the planned blocks I think I may need for a quilt, but I’m going to go ahead and sew some more dark green blocks next month so I’ll have some color placement options. When all is said and done, any extras not used in the quilt will go into the Parts Department. I’m hoping that I can find enough good stuff in there this winter to piece together a Parts Department Inventory quilt.  

And are you beginning to think of the projects you want to work on for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2019?  I’ll have my crumb block project carrying over (working title is now Crumb Cake). And one other project is assigned to the lineup. But there are several more vying for a place. I’m trying to vary my projects by piece size (crumbs, strings, chunks, small squares, etc). And I need a project or two to help me use some light neutrals and black/white prints. So it’s a fun process to try to “piece together” a working plan, while tackling items on my Must Make or Bucket lists.  

Coming and Going

It’s been a crazy week.

My brother Steve arrived from Colorado to move his stuff. He came by Amtrak so he could drive a U-Haul truck back full of his stuff while towing his Model A on a trailer. The train was delayed before leaving and didn’t arrive until 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. THAT was fun - driving into downtown Salt Lake at that hour to pick him up. Train stations aren’t usually located in the nice part of town. But we got home safely,  I got my sleep, and Steve has been loading his stuff up slowly but surely. Today, Saturday, should be the last loading day, and hopefully he’ll be able to take off tomorrow. He has help unloading on the other end.

Bruce is working ComicCon (now called FanX) and doesn’t get home until 9-ish. That ends today, too, thank goodness. And since the commuter trains and buses run less in off-peak (non-commuter) hours, I have to take him and pick him up at the Trax station. Meanwhile, between running Steve around for errands and appointments, and shuffling Bruce, I’ve had precious little time for myself. But that’s fine - I was prepared for this week and its resulting chaos and messes. But not much sewing got done.

I did sew up two of the Squared Away blocks that Angela, our Rainbow Scrap Challenge hostess, and Mari of Academic Quilter  have cooked up for us.  After doing the first one on the right above, I started in on the second one. I didn’t like the lack of contrast in the fabrics I’d selected, so I just made it up as I went. The pieces are the same, but shuffled and with different shading to form a different pattern. I sorta kinda like it a tiny bit, but not as much as the original block. I may still do another blue block.

The Orange Lozenge top did get finished this week. It’s now awaiting its turn to be basted.

And finally, I got started on the quilting of Linked Squares. It’s halfway done. There’s not much to see at this point.

I’ll finish quilting it today and tomorrow (sew day with Cousin Kim!). It will be a finish for this week. My goals for the coming week are also to sew and quilt the baby quilt top whose pieces I showed last week, sew up all 7 bird blocks in blue for my Lattice Birds top, and baste the Orange Lozenges quilt. I have a mammogram on Wednesday and lots of housework to face during the week sometime. But at least there will be a slow return to normal - or what passes for it - around here. Thanks for dropping by! xo.

Even the Skies are Orange

Because of the fires in California (and probably other places too) over the last week, we’ve had orange, smoke-filled skies here in the Salt Lake Valley. Yesterday was the worst yet because there is also a fire burning in Utah County, just south of this valley. Orange skies might match the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month, but it’s something I’d rather do without.

So, I’ve stayed indoors, used eye drops and sewed.  And boy, have I ever been slaying those orange scraps! To see more orange scrap carnage, hop over to Scrappy Saturday at Angela’s blog.

I like to sew these Linked Squares blocks close to the beginning of the month, before I’ve used my scraps for the other project, because they require some larger pieces. I sewed up these two blocks, which completed the last 2 of 20 total blocks. They measure 16.5” each.

And since the planned layout was a simple 4x5 setting, I stitched up the flimsy in no time. It  measures 64x80”. The backing will be a single fabric (rainbow abacus).

But it won’t be basted for at least a couple weeks, because I have 3 flimsies ahead of it to be quilted.

Moving along with the scraps, I sewed up two of the Squared Away blocks. I used orange with brown accents in keeping with the suggested alternate color. I’m saving my darker browns for a limited-color quilt I have planned for wintertime.  As usual, these blocks were fun and the directions were perfect.

Then I checked my plans for the All You Need is Love quilt I’m doing for my daughter. It seems I needed two Friendship Stars and two lollipop blocks. 

And this is how it’s looking so far. It needs some darker blues. I’d love to add some greens in there too, so I foresee some fiddling around with this down the line. After this round is sewn on, there will be a small black and white checkerboard round next, and then a border of 52 pink hearts that I sewed when the RSC color was pink.

After the pink hearts - there HAD to be hearts for All You Need is Love - I have an 8” border to do. I’m torn between doing a round of 8” Sawtooth Stars (do I want more stars?) or two 4” borders of rail fence pinwheels, then bowties. If I do the 8” Sawtooth Stars, the centers could be some of my 4” selvage blocks, or anything for that matter..... I’ll just have to see how it all looks when I get to that point.

I love sewing these quarter log cabin blocks. They sure eat through a lot of scraps and strings. They measure 6” (finished) each. 

And since brown is sort of a footnote color this month, I decided to sew up my brown selvages to clear those out. They made 9 blocks at 6.5” each.

Finally, this month’s hostess for the Block Lotto assigned a block she calls California Poppies. The colors were to be brights (oranges, red, yellow, golds, - poppy colors) with a four green squares running diagonally through the piecing.  Here are my 8 blocks:

All that I have left to do with orange are the bird blocks (2 facing right, 2 facing left) and then my crumb blocks with all the leftovers. My goal is also to begin and even FINISH quilting Groovy Guitars. I’ve been putting it off, I admit it. Where’s that da** magic wand when you need one??

Alfie and Darla have written and entered a post in the annual Pets on Quilts show at Lily Pad Quilting. You can read their post HERE. 

I’m nearing the end (two more posts should do it) of my Africa Travelogue series of posts. Here is the most recent post, #7, which is the conclusion of our Kenyan safari. Lots of great pictures of animals, and the post contains links to all the previous posts. 

Sunrise on the Maasai Mara

Now THAT’S my kind of orange sky!!

Recapping Red

Surprise, surprise! I may have been off galavanting around the globe this month, LOL, but I got my red scrap sewing homework done!  I’m joining up with Angela and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge gang for the Scrappy Saturday linkup and some red hot fun.

Before leaving for Africa on the 8th, I had sewn one of this month’s Squared Away blocks. Then this past week, I managed to sew a second one.

That completed all my regularly-scheduled red sewing, so I used my smaller scraps to sew up these ten crumb blocks, each measuring 6.5” (unfinished).

And that brings me to my Red Recap for July.

This month’s production included:

12 Selvage squares, 6.5”

2   Selvage squares, 4.5”

16 Quarter Log Cabins, 6.5”

6   Bow ties, 4.5”

1   Linked Squares, 16.5”

10 Crumb blocks, 6.5”

2   Squared Away blocks, 10.5”

For a total of 49 blocks.  

Before leaving on my trip, I also whipped out a cute little over-the-shoulder water bottle holder which came in handy for several days. I didn’t use a pattern, but just measured the water bottles - both my permanent aluminum container and a standard water bottle. Then I quilted a piece, sewed it in a cylinder, added a cross-body shoulder strap and boxed the bottom.

It came in very handy for carrying water, with my passport and money in my zip pouch around my waist. Totally hands-free. Until the dang money pouch zipper broke and our work days got longer and busier. So I switched to carrying a backpack instead, which carried everything (including my Maasai shuka blanket) for the day.  But I foresee lots more use of this holder in my future!

If you’re a casual Saturday reader of my blog, I’d just like to let you know that I’ve begun posting pictures and stories of my two-week trip to Kenya this month. The links are below.

PART 1:  Nairobi Elephant Orphanage, The Escarpment, Travel to Narok

PART 2:  Tenkes School in the Mau Forest and an Honorary Feast

PART 3:  Days for Girls and Lunch at a Mud Hut Farm

Maasai elders preparing nyama choma

I’ll be continuing the stories next week.  Thanks for dropping by!