Then and Now

When Lynnleigh was born, eight short years ago, I was required to wear a mask for our first meeting. I had a bad cold at the time but that wasn't going to keep me from holding our new granddaughter; oh, no! Little did I know then that mask-wearing would ever become the norm! We were eager to recreate this iconic moment today. Happy birthday, Lynnleigh; you've made these past eight years a joy (and you've grown just a teeny bit too 😉)!

Life is Good!

2020 Round Up

Here's just a sampling of quilts done this year. My guiding word for the year was "VISION". Vision to see clearly: to look at what I had on hand and how I could utilize my stash to make and finish up more quilts. In addition to these (above) I have a sizable queue of  "to be quilteds" ready to go when the much anticipated roll of batting (finally) arrives. 

Early in January I rolled out the die cutter and made piles of neatly cut usable shapes from the scrap basket. I had plenty to work with and utilized much of what is contained in these stacks as the projects were completed and checked off. I'm pleased with what I accomplished. Actually, when I went back to pull pictures from each month I am even a little surprised at how much I got done. The one thing, naturally, that I never saw coming when I chose the word was a pandemic and a stay at home order. That did up the productivity considerably around here. These quilts (above) were the keepers. 

There were also donation quilts. And there were masks...and masks... and masks. Just a few:

There were many other gifts sewn and from-scratch baking was done, my bread machine saw more service this past year than it has in the last five. I did more quilting for friends this year than I've ever done. Reading became a highlight too: D.EA.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time became a precedent in the late afternoon every day. And SEW it continues... right down to the wire as this year comes to a close. I'm still working out of my stash, I will finish up at least one more scrappy donation quilt before the ball drops on New Year's.  I'm already working on carefully choosing a new guiding word for 2021. I hope to be able to equally diligent going forward with that endeavor, it's an exciting prospect. Wish me luck.

Life is Good!

And Sew It Goes

I've finished the quilting on this little one, "Sister Bear"; I have the binding all ready to apply, and wouldn't you know it, it's a batik and there's enough left over to make more masks! Yay! 

This is the batch from last week, thirteen adult sized and one child's mask; they've already been distributed to their new families and I have nine all ready to go this week! I thought that my batiks were dwindling away.  Nope, think again! One family member that received masks was so kind as to repay me with a generous cut of beautiful blue batik from her own stash! This kindness reminds me of a line from my favorite-of-all-time Christmas movie: "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas". 

There's a scene in the movie when Emmet and his mother, Alice Otter, are rowing on the river and he teases her "you trade socks that you've knitted for pumpkins so that you can bake them into pies which you sell for money to buy more wool to knit more socks..." and so on! Yes, I'm trading masks for fabric to make more masks, and SEW it goes!

In other news, phase three of the dental implant saga happened yesterday with the placement of the abutment. I feel a little like I was kicked in the jaw by a mule today; basically just sore but there's no pain at the site. I'm sure glad to have gotten to this point, and have all the rest behind me. In three weeks the plan is to move ahead with the crown made and that's the final step. It's been a long haul since that blasted tooth cracked down to the root last October. 😬

Today, July 1, is both National Postage Stamp day and National Letter Carrier day. Do you remember this stamp? I sure do, it was one of my favorites. A 13-cent stamp is almost impossible to believe today, but not in 1987. 😉

Hannes and I would like to wish you a happy July and a wonderful summer ahead. This picture is a couple of years old, here he's resting his head on "Red Hot Summer", a Stack and Whack quilt. 

Life is Good!

Cut It Out!

I have my work cut out for me, literally. I've done research on the history of that phrase and have found the most prevalent explanation as one that comes from the sixteenth century: "This phrase is supposedly a metaphorical allusion to the preparation of fabric to be worked on: once the shapes have been cut out, the tailor still has a lot of sewing to do, by hand in the past, before the cloth becomes a garment." This is certainly appropriate for today's post. I wrote most recently about going through the full-to-overflowing scrap basket to collect the batiks in there that were serviceable enough, size-wise, for making more masks. The requests for more have been steady. Today, Wednesday, has been deemed as mask-making day. I rescued enough fabric from the scraps to make thirteen! In the meantime, the rest of the scraps needed to be dealt with. Slowly, working my way through the heap, I pressed them and diligently cut them up into usable sizes. 

These scraps, leftover from various and assorted projects, were eventually transformed into this:

... and these squares, triangles and rectangles were all used to feed these...

...the bins that reside beneath my cutting table, Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System which has worked for me for many years! These, in turn, will be used to make more scrap quilts, and SEW it goes! 

After days spent cutting, the trash can looked like this. Yes, there are scraps too small to save! 😉

Meanwhile, out on the porch, Mr. Goodneedle had his work cut out for him too. He began re-slinging the dining chairs that have literally fallen apart after years of being out in the weather. The before and after, above, is night and day. We are both very pleased with the new, lighter (and sturdier!) look.

Mask Making 2.0

More mask making; for friends and family, from my favorite pattern, but with a new twist.

 The Valami mask, in children's sizes, their Mom just so happens to be an Auburn Tiger. 

The Valami face mask (linked above) has now added the ear-loop option as well as children's sizing. I am continuing to make mine with batiks, (believe it or not, I'm getting down to the bottom of my batik stash) as the tighter weave provides added filtration, and lining mine with a soft, cotton knit. These masks also feature a pocket that will accommodate an extra filter, if desired, and copper nose wires, sewn in, for the perfect custom fit. The first masks that I made had over-the-head, tie-behind-the-neck, fastening with soft, T-shirt ties. For these most recent batches I've turned entirely to the easy-on, easy-off, adjustable (with a pony bead) ear loops; also made with soft, non-chafing, T-shirt ties. Thanks, Valami, for continuing to tweak and improve on an already superior pattern! You can download the free pattern here.  It's looking more and more like North Carolina is going to go under a state mandate for mask-wearing in public; the capital city here has already fallen under that mandatory law beginning today. That being said, face masks are going to be around for a the forseeable future; you might as well be wearing one that fits well and properly, for everyone's protection. I have plans to go through my overflowing scrap basket (scraps too small to re-shelve) tomorrow and see how many more masks I can make toward this effort.

And sew it goes...

Life is Good!

This and That

I'm keeping busy, there's always too much to do and not enough time to get it all accomplished. I don't know how I ever got anything done at all when I was allowed to leave the house! As fast as I finish one project I find three others to work on! I began setting these stitcheries together with low volume 25-patches.

These squares measure 5" finished; with the one inch framing border all around this becomes a 12 inch block. Right now I have a few ideas in my head as far as where these will go eventually, but I will set them aside for now and let the ideas simmer.

I found this new (to me) product that's too good not to share my rave review: if you've ever been confronted with an errant thread that gets caught between your quilt layers and shadows through the top, here's the solution! No matter how well you trim before loading and layering your quilt, threads happen. This is a super-fine tool with a micro hook on the end that slips easily through the weave of cotton fabric, grabs that thread and retrieves it without leaving a trace! Once again, Clover notions to the rescue, they make the best products! I'm really excited about this one. 

We got the sweetest homemade card in the mail from our oldest two grandchildren in the Capital City, they each wrote personal notes inside. They're (along with all the schoolchildren in our state) about to experience the longest summer vacation ever as the governor announced on Friday that schools won't open again this academic year. I feel so sorry for all the children, I can't even imagine. 

Life goes on: Mama Carolina Wren coaxed the babies out of their deep, secluded nest-- they're on their own. She's been so busy flitting in and out with bugs and other treats to feed them, we'll miss watching the activity through the window at our breakfast table. But, now, the brick column can be removed; Mr. G. had that on his "to do" list but was detoured, temporarily, by the babies. 

Adapting during our stay-at-home in an upside down🙃 world: Quiltkeemosabe gave me this wonderful panel; I'm going to load it up and quilt it, as is, to use as a table runner. Isn't it wonderful? It measures 43" X 19". Since it's where we are, and there's no place like it, it's the perfect time. I have found another mask pattern to try out. I have always been a huge Ami Simms fan; so, when this one hit the Internet, naturally I downloaded the pattern and am giving this style a try. This will be the third style that I've stitched up. I lost track a long time ago how many I've made, it's ongoing.

😷

Speaking of Quiltkeemosabe- her husband is coming home from his five week hospital/rehab stay (non-COVID!) tomorrow, at long last. Thanks one and all who continued to hold him in prayer for health and healing. Please continue to pray for him and his family as he acclimates to being back home again and gains his strength back. 

😷

Please indulge me in a soapbox moment: I am deeply saddened and highly aggravated to witness the public shaming, name-calling and finger-pointing that I see on social media aimed at those who may not be complying with the current "rules" for virus prevention or spread as the accuser deems appropriate. Let's all keep in mind here that everyone is doing the very best that they can based on the information that they have. If you see someone without a mask, and you're uncomfortable, avoid them. If you see someone who's not observing social distancing, then be careful to keep your own distance. If a business opens back up and you don't feel safe entering, then, by all means, don't. Wash your hands, keep yourself and your loved ones as safe as you can; but, please, please, be kind. We can't possibly know everyone's story or current circumstance. We're all tired of being isolated, worn out from concern and eager to put this behind us-- but, we're all in this together and a little kindness goes a long, long way.

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:3-5

Life is Good!

Friends and Family

So, the face mask making efforts have switched from donating to unknown facilities to shipping them off to friends and family, now that the CDC has suggested that everyone wear them in public settings. I've also switched patterns, added ties when elastic became impossible to find, and shifted the fabric choice for these to all batiks (at the suggestion of medical personnel) for the tighter thread count which adds an extra bit of filtration quality. I'll sew until I run through my stash of batiks. 

And sew it goes...

Adapting in an upside down🙃 world: I've gone back to the old habit that I cultivated many years ago after reading Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance book; I'm keeping a gratitude journal again. Each day I write down five things that I am grateful for. It certainly helps with keeping everything in proper perspective. Actually, now that I've begun I wonder why I ever stopped! 

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." - Colossians 4:2

Life is Good!

Up next: Handwork