Patience and Prudence

←This is Patience she measures in right now, before borders, at 64" X 78". She has all but emptied out my bin of 3.5" square scraps. Hallelujah! This was a great stash/scrap buster! Fifty 8" squares of every shade and hue. Im glad that I stuck with this one, it makes me happy. Patience has a baby sister, too:

This is Prudence↑. She's made with the leftover HSTs from her big sister; she measures 25" X 38". (Since one definition of "prudence" is: "skill and good judgement in the management and use of resources" it seemed to be the perfect name.) Isn't she cute? I do plan to add borders to Patience this week. But, you know how it is... things keep coming up, we'll see. I used to keep up with this blog, it's a wonder to me now how I ever did it. I'm not making any more promises to get better about posting. Speaking of things coming up:

Ta-da! Quiltdivajulie has been posting pics of her glorious Amaryllis bulbs. Here's ours... it's always fun to watch these emerge and climb high before bursting into glorious blooms to brighten the otherwise bleak winter days. Every day there's a visible display of progress and growth!

Dad had this photo sent to me. I told him that I wanted to see his smiling face but he told me to "get over it". Even in his current situation he's kept a great attitude and sense of humor. That's a blessing. The pillow that he is holding here was presented to him by his nursing team last week. It is made from a jacket that belonged to my mother. 💖 As sad as I am that Dad is no longer at home I am comforted by the fact that this facility is staffed by such loving and compassionate individuals that they would do something like this for him!  Acts of kindness such as these make a huge difference in the lives of those that they're caring for!

I'll close today with this picture of Lynnleigh, we spent the day shopping with her today to celebrate her 13th birthday! Yes, THIRTEEN! I know. sigh.  We're no strangers to birthday shopping trips throughout the years but they're no longer to the American Girl store. Sigh. So, what did the birthday girl choose for her outing? We shopped for books, craft supplies, accessories, a pullover, skin care items and, naturally, we just had to end our special day out with an ice cream sundae! It just doesn't get any better than that!

Life is Good!

Amarillo Skies Revised and the Long Distance Runner

I participated in an online fabric swap last year hosted by redrainbootshandmade. I loved the wonderful variety of all the 5" blue squares that I received but struggled a bit with how I was going to use them. Julia, the swap host, offered a pattern to go along with the swap, her pattern was called "Amarillo Skies". It is a great pattern but revised my version a bit to include a blue/gray sashing (stashed fabric that's at least 35 years old!) and stars at the block intersections.  I'm happy with the results, now to find that perfect backing fabric. "Amarillo Skies Revised" measures 62" X 74". While I was stitching ASR I was also piecing a runner, L-E style. 

This is the result, a long distance runner for sure! Made up from long ago pieced 4-patches (1.5" squares) set into a square-in-a-square setting, this runner will serve those sitting at the kitchen island. It measures 113" X 17" and has 1,222 pieces (but who's counting?!?) that all came directly from the stash, nothing was purchased special for this project.

I even managed to piece a backing (and batting) from what I had on hand. Waste not, want not! 

And, just like that, quilting has begun! It's too hot to do much outdoors right now.

How are you staying cool this summer?

Life is Good!

 

Island Runner

You saw that title and thought that I might be engaging in a physical challenge at an exotic location, didn't you? Ha! Nope. But I am challenging myself, to use up all of the 1.5" scraps out of the precut bin. After finishing "No Scrap Too Small" last month I decided to keep on using up those itty-bitty four patches that have been assembled, L-E* style, over the years. 

Here's the design plan that I came up with, using only fabrics that are in the stash for setting. This will become a runner for the kitchen island. It will serve as one giant placemat when seated there for meals. The overall finished dimensions are 113" X 17" (it's a long island); slowly but surely this is gaining length. Am I in danger of running out of these itty bitty scraps anytime soon? One would think so... but I can't see the bottom of the bin yet! I'm assembling the runner as I add more wedge blocks to the kaleidoscope quilt on the design wall, more L-E sewing, one thing leads to another, and SEW it goes.    

Life is Good!

*L-E: In sewing, particularly quilting, "leaders and enders" are small fabric scraps used to start and end a chain of piecing to prevent thread nests, conserve thread, and ensure a clean seam. Sewing this way conserves thread, is more efficient and, for me, I stitch up entirely different projects while working on others at the same time.

 

What Are You Working On?

Mom's been gone for over two months now. The new normal has settled around me. I miss her daily phone calls; she would always lead off our chats with "what are you working on?" I find myself talking to her sometimes, reporting on my latest projects. After her eyesight failed through advancing macular degeneration she couldn't sew anymore and, I believe, that she enjoyed just thinking about, and imagining, the quilts and other projects that were taking on life. Sew, in that context, here are my latest projects completed: shown left, "No Scrap Too Small" has been quilted and bound (those bitty scrap squares finish to 1 inch).

This cross stitch piece, stitching complete, will be turned into a pinkeep soon. 

Summer Sweets ~ Scattered Seed Samplers by Tammy Black

With that one checked off the list this one has been started and is almost done already, 

I'm working on border now.

"School Colors" is now a full-fledged flimsy (60" X 75"). 

Backing has been chosen, it's waiting its turn.

Inspired by this photograph that I found on Instagram...

...these Kaleidoscope blocks are my latest obsession, wedges are taking over!! Those dark blocks on the bottom of the design wall were pieced over 30 years ago. I dug them out and set them together, it is destined to become a table topper. Back then I must've made a wedge-shaped template and traced around it as the seam allowances are drawn in pencil on the wrong sides. Now, I am using Studio 180's Wedge Star Tool to make my scrappy version. I found that I could make 7" finished blocks working solely from my saved precut 4.5" square scrap bins; using them up on this project brings sheer joy. My goal (as long as the scraps hold out) is to piece a top measuring 56" X 63"; an ample-sized lap quilt. I've been pretty driven lately, making to-do lists and sticking to the tasks at hand, staying busy is helpful.

Last, but not least, "Tumbling Squirrels" is under the quilting needle at present, a few more passes and this, too, will be in need of binding. My conversations with Mom will continue. I'll talk to her about my latest idea and I know that she's smiling. From my earliest years I can remember my mother always making something; she decorated cakes for a period of time. She did folk-art painting and was a master of decoupage. She loved crafting all sorts of things from wood when she wasn't sewing. Handmade meant heart-made, she'd leave her mark on items that she'd created: her initials and the year hand-penned within a heart shape. 💗

"What are you working on?"

Life is Good!

Happy July!

I missed wishing you all a Happy 4th of July, but, today, I'll wish you a happy July instead! Our flag was flying proudly yesterday, as always, and we're keeping busy as these days grow increasingly warmer. The potted flowers in front have never been prettier than this year, I can't take any credit, all I did was set them into the pots. Recently, we've had additional heartbreak where our nesting bluebirds are concerned. For the second time this year we've lost two families of fledglings to black snakes! Both times the reptile attackers have been removed, permanently. I am at the point where I want to simply take the nesting box down, as I feel responsible for them even coming here and setting up housekeeping at all. Mr. Goodneedle wants to persevere and has been doing research on new pole baffles and more effective deterrents than those we've been employing. We've learned that snakes are one of the most common predators; this is all new to us after twenty years of blissfully watching our bluebird friends arrive, raise their families and launch those scruffy little bluebird babies out on their own without so much as a care in the world. If any of you have any sure-fire solutions to this situation please let us know! Nature, for all its beauty and wonder, can also be so cruel.

The new laundry space is ready, at long last, for countertops! The folks from the stone place are coming out this afternoon to measure and "template" the top for the quartzite that we've selected. The room should be completed in two weeks. We've installed the new washer and dryer; there's so much more technology than I've been accustomed to from a major appliance! They're bluetooth compatible (I get a message on my phone when the clothes are dry!) and have many other handy features, ones that I never even would have thought of! The washing machine has a reservoir for the detergent that is filled for 40+ loads. The soap is dispensed based on the weight of the load. There's been a LOT to learn, it's all good.

I've begun quilting on "The Workout" quilt (pattern from Wonderful Curves Sampler Quilt Block Book). It's been a long time since I've feathered a wreath. 

This arrived in the mail last week! I had pre-ordered a copy back in January and almost forgotten about it until the amount hit my credit card. Oh, yeah. 😉 It's everything that I hoped it would be, and more! The premise of the book is to use up the scraps that you have on hand and includes a system for organizing those leftovers from other quilts so that they're ready for any of the patterns published here. 

From the last fat quarter bundle that I purchased I had little to no leftovers whatsoever! Believe it or not, I pieced quilt #1, quilt #2, bound those block boards (#3) and pieced these minis for doll quilts (#4) all from one bundle (plus the background) of fat quarters. Now I can start all over again, creating new  quilts and more scraps! Just like the title of the book above: Scrapiness Is Happiness; it really, truly is! 

This is proof that the above was a really, really good fat quarter bundle- 

good clear down to those last too-small-to-use strings and threads!

Life is Good!

Seeing The Light

My last post was a November "wrap-up" post and today we are mid-way through the month of December; that's a good indication of the busy-ness of this season that's upon us. I'm sure it's the same at your house. I'm ordinarily very organized regimented(!) about my approach to decorating the house and preparing for Christmas. Typically, I assign a task a day in the beginning of December and then shoe-horn in all of the other extras such as baking, wrapping and card-sending. I encountered a huge stumbling block to this approach right off the bat this year. The pre-lit tree that goes up in the foyer (usually on the first Sunday in Advent), our Chrismon tree, decided to be miserly with its illumination this year, only choosing to allow a portion of the bottom third of the tree to shine. After an inordinate amount of time trying to trouble-shoot the problem Mr. Goodneedle got out his wire cutters and turned that tree into a no-longer-pre-lit version of its former self. We went out and bought strands of lights. 

Our Chrismon tree, shining brightly again in all of its glory. This task took much longer than its allotted time and was almost a week beyond my original schedule. It was right about then that I realized that this self-imposed schedule of mine was driving me crazy; (and not only me but, I'm sure Mr. G. too, although he never said anything) it was at this particular moment that I saw the light (and I'm not talking about those minis strung on the tree)! What was the rush this year? For the first time in as long as I can remember there will be no holiday hosting this year. A calm descended over me when I realized that I could carry on at a slower pace and truly enjoy these days leading up to Christmas 2020, I don't know that I've ever enjoyed the process more! 

In the days since my "awakening" I've slowly placed the nativity in the dining room and put the garland on the mantle. I've become reacquainted with our nutcrackers and other collected decorative objects that only come out once a year. I've addressed and mailed all of our Christmas cards and parcels. The gifts are wrapped. Just this past Sunday our family room tree went up. It has ornaments representing our lives together since we were married: (and even some from my childhood) our children, our grandchildren, places we've lived and friends and family who are no longer with us. It was cherished time on Sunday placing each treasure on the tree. 

This is the first ornament we hung as a married couple, back when our tree was small and the ornaments were sparse. 💓

And, this year, I've had time to sew- a Christmas (for display next year) quilt! I have enjoyed every moment spent on this one. These are the blocks of the day that Moda introduced in October, the Stitch Pink initiative; I chose to stitch mine up in Christmas fabrics, Moda's "Naughty or Nice"  fabric collection.

I was in love with the little elves...

...and tucked them in wherever I could!  I chose to make this wall quilt square and only used the patterns for the first twenty five blocks, but I have them all downloaded and in a notebook. I've decided to do the same with their current Winter Frost sew-along. Today's snowman block is simply adorable!

While I was stitching and joining the blocks another tumbler quilt was growing under my needle, leader-ender style. I've got a head start on donation quilts for next year already. How many projects can you work on at one time? I suppose, if I'm being honest, I'd have to say that I'm working on three right now- consecutively. 

Somehow, this cute and fun little scrappy is clamoring for attention too! Isn't it a-MAZE-ing? I've decided that I'm going to make a huge stack of these blocks and let the grandchildren assemble them on the design wall; won't they like that? Anything that makes a dent in the overflowing scrap bins makes me happy~ and sew on and sew on.  Lots more has been going on around Chez Goodneedle too, including some really fun adventures. I can't remember a time when I've actually sat and spent time sewing in December before this year, the leisurely pace comforts and sustains me. Baking is on today's agenda. Stay tuned; rest assured that all is well and that there's a wonderful peace attached to opening one's eyes and seeing the light!

It's just taken me forever to realize that!

Life is Good!

Binding and Baking

"Sweet Sixteen" is off the rails, binding has been applied and the hand finishing has begun. I'm quilting up a few table runners right now, one day has a way of sliding into the next. The quilts are piling up. Mr. Goodneedle asked me last evening who this quilt was for. I have no designation in mind, I just keep at it, one quilt after another; and sew it goes. One would think that these scrappies would make a noticeable dent in the bin of precut squares; so far, I can't tell a difference! The bins seem as full as they've always been.

Sweet Sixteen uses 2.5" squares, the pattern can be found here. 

Two loaves of cinnamon swirl bread fresh out of the oven. These will be great for French Toast.

Remember these Quilter's Quarantine signs that we all had back in the 90's? Here's mine, they're not as funny today as they were back then; not since we've all learned what mandatory lockdown is like. Isn't it ironic though that the "treatment" listed on this is to attend as many quilt shows and shops as possible? It will be some time before we can know those types of cures, I look forward to those days!

Adapting in an upside-down 🙃world: I've been stitching up quite a few face masks using the  Valami pattern, click on the hyperlink to download the free pattern.  Once I got started it became easier, assembly-line style. It took awhile to gather all the necessary supplies but I'm good to go now, I've got the copper nose wires cut and at the ready.

I'm only using batiks, lining with cotton knit and using T-shirts ties. I have a nurse friend who took this style for a test run and pronounced the fit as a very good one, "the nose piece makes all the difference", she reported. Who would've ever guessed, months ago, that we'd be raiding our stashes to make face masks for health-care workers and personal protection? Stay safe, wash your hands🧼!

"Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all day long."  Psalm 25:5

Life is Good!

Lessons Learned

I hope to be a lifelong learner; I pray that I never get to that place where I think I've learned all that there is to learn. My grandmother used to tell me that every day spent without learning something new was a wasted day. Recalling that now, probably told to me when I was Jr. High age, was most likely in response to thinking that I already knew it all!  We kept the grandchildren late last week while their mommy was recovering from an outpatient medical procedure. As enthusiastic Cribbage players, we always have a board and deck of cards out and ready for a game. Lynnleigh decided that it was time to learn and PawPaw was a patient teacher. I love my granddaughter's eagerness to learn something new. This game will takes years of learning and practice for her, but she's undaunted.

Here's my class sample from "Fast to Fancy Freehand Feathers", the longarm quilting class that I took up in Hampton, VA. Our instructor, Bethanne Nemesh, was excellent. I appreciated her method of teaching in a manner that let us loose for stitching, and alternately drawing, in well-timed sessions as we explored a variety of increasingly difficult techniques applied to feathers in quilting. I was especially excited by her demonstrations of body placement and showing us ways to protect our spines and posture while working at the longarm. A friend told me years ago if I ever had the opportunity to learn from Bethanne to take advantage of that; I'm so glad that I listened and that I did!

Last week I was summoned to Jury Duty. My daughter told me to take a book. I am so happy to report that I did just that. This is the third time that I've been summoned but only the first time that I have had to report. My time there amounted to waiting in the jury pool room and ultimately being released to go home. 

Round two of my dental implant saga happened on Thursday. I learned my lesson from round one: plan nothing for the rest of the day after sedation dentistry! I am now the proud owner of a threaded insert. All is well and healing continues. 

I decided to try out Kim Diehl's "chubby binding" method on my latest quilt finish. I happened to have her "Simple Seasons" here but I believe this technique is outlined in all of her books. I had ordered a Clover 1" bias tube maker some time ago and it worked great. This is the second new method of binding I've tried this year-- my bias binding of curved corners happened earlier.

I do like the results of the "chubby binding"; it appears as normal on the front side of the quilt and much wider, appearing as sort of a frame, on the back side as seen here. I have since basted this down for hand-finishing. 

As my "Vision 2020" scrap quilt challenge to myself progresses I decided to stitch up cut triangles that have been accumulating in one of my bins. This is a random block that simply grew under my needle. It has distinct possibilities...

Using a copy, cut and paste feature I photographed the block and combined it with itself in various settings; these are my favorite two, with the dark pinwheel center being the overall design winner. And sew it goes... 

Ultimately we're all learning as we go as far as dealing with the current, ongoing health crisis. We're learning how to deal with hunkering down, what we can live without and daily uncertainty. The afore-mentioned book that I took with me to jury duty is Kristin Hannah's "The Nightingale". If you ever had to stop and consider what, exactly, one can live without; this is the book to point out exactly that! Sure, things might not be as convenient right now as we would like, but what can we learn?

In the meantime, take care of yourselves; be smart and pay attention.

And, above all: be prayerful! 

That's the best and most powerful lesson that I've ever learned. 

Life is Good!

Up next: Moving to the "Finished" Column!