To-Do Tuesday #88

Good morning!  I'm checking in with Chris and friends at Chrisknits to share my to-do list for the week.   

Keeping it simple last week, I had just two goals for the week: 

• Make more arrows for the Follow Your Own Path QAL.  Slow progress here, but I'm up to 6 out of 16 arrows that are needed.  

• And work on my May Table Scraps placemat.  Progress here as well.  I started with an orphan block, and it is now quilted and ready for binding.

I'm continuing on the same path this week.  Although the days are busy with responsibilities for helping my mom, I've been successful at sewing for at least 15 minutes most days, and that's helping me get a few things done.

• I'll continue to work on the arrow blocks.  Every block counts, right?!
• I'm planning to machine sew the binding on the placemat, finish up the hand stitching, and write up a post to share by Saturday.
• One other thing I hope to get done is to piece the backing for my Harmony quilt top and get started quilting it.  I noticed today that in the QAL, we are just up to completing the top, but I've got that part done!

My week in red...

I thought I'd lay my blocks out on the upstairs "design floor" instead of the downstairs design wall and try to take advantage of the morning sun.  This week I made two Chandelier Bead blocks in red.  I love these simple blocks!

Here's the whole collection so far:

I'll keep making two of these 6.5 inch blocks each month,

and then figure out what to do with them later in the year!

My hand stitching project this week has been to make another scrappy trips block in red.  This might be my favorite one yet - I love the red and white prints!

You might notice that when I had the red scraps out for one project, 

I also used them for the other!

Now there are nine of these blocks, and the design is really emerging!

For this month's second block, I decided to go with some darker reds I found.  Some came out of the Christmas bin!  

I've been trying to use up the peppermint candy fabric forever,

but there's still more left!

This one might be cheating for a red block, but it's such a fun print that I couldn't resist doing a little fussy cutting.

Linking up with all my favorite weekend parties:

SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday 

Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap 

and Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching!

Since I got at least 5 minutes of sewing machine time 6 out of 7 days this past week, and did some hand-piecing each evening, I'm also linking up with Kate

at Life in Pieces for 15 Minutes to Stitch.

I Like Thursday #234

 It's been another busy week with my mom, and not a lot of photos to show for it.   She is starting to settle in and get the hang of the routine at her apartment complex and meeting some nice people, so we're headed in the right direction!

Meanwhile, the best thing to happen all week is this.  Mike had his last cancer treatment (a whole year's worth of them)!  He wanted a picture to send his friends, so I took this one.

There will, of course, be follow-up visits, and scans, and tests, but so far everything is looking good!

I'm enjoying this book this week!

When I read the author's dedication at the beginning of the book, 

I knew I would like this one!

"To all the authors of all the books I've ever read.

Thank you for the escape, for the knowledge, and for shaping me into who I am."

In my little bits of sewing time the last couple days, I've worked on a couple more arrow blocks.  I've been saving the bonus triangles from the flying geese, and using them as leaders and enders.  They'll finish at 1.25 inches.  Aren't they cute?

Bonnie Hunter's quote of the day on her Wednesday post resonated with me this week!  I definitely don't have it all together right now...

Quiltville's Quips and Snips

Have a happy Thursday!

Joining in with LeeAnna and friends at Not Afraid of Color for I like Thursday.

To-Do Tuesday #87

Good morning!  I'm checking in with Chris and friends at Chrisknits to share my to-do list for the week.  I had a simple goal on my list this week -to carve out at least 15 minutes a day to sew!  And I did pretty well at that - 6 out of 7 days.

Some happy blocks on my design wall:

Wonky stars

Arrows for the QAL 

Chandelier bead blocks in red

And my Scrappy Trips blocks from Jan - April

This week I'd like to continue my plan of 15 minutes a day, with these things to accomplish:

• More arrow blocks, one in each color
• Get started on May's Table Scraps project.  I have the perfect orphan block for a placemat, leftover from the Diamond Strings quilt top I finished in December that still needs to be quilted!

Keeping the list simple, but I think these goals are achievable!

Slow Stitching this week and Blogger Award Nomination

CathieJ of Cathie's Craftworks was so sweet to nominate me for the Outstanding Blogger Award!  Thank you, Cathie - I really appreciate that!  I've gotten to know Cathie through the Slow Sunday Stitching link-up at Kathy's Quilts, so I thought I'd post my response right here on my Sunday post.  Cathie gave me some questions to answer, so here goes!

Do you do anything else while crafting? (i.e. listen to music or a book, watch TV, etc.)

I usually work on embroidery, hand-piecing, or other kinds of hand stitching in the evenings when my husband and I watch TV together.   I enjoy having something to do with my hands while we have a show on.

This week I finished up my Harmony Hand-pieced quilt top while we've been watching the show "Elementary" on Hulu.  Elementary is a modern day version of Sherlock Holmes with Lucy Liu playing Dr. Watson.  We're enjoying it!

Do you prefer crafting alone, with a friend or in a group?

I mostly sew alone.  My favorite time in my studio with the sewing machine is an hour or so every afternoon, and it's sort of sacred "me" time!  I do have a local quilt group that meets monthly, and we often bring a show-and-tell project, but we don't sew together.

Beach, lake, mountains? What would be your preferred place to vacation/visit? 

Always - the beach!  I live just on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, so I can go there whenever I want.  So a beach vacation is a must.  Due to Covid, of course, we haven't traveled in a long time.  But a few years ago, I put my toes in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico all in one year!  I'm definitely looking forward to a trip back to the ocean - hopefully later this year.

I do like this woodsy fabric that I found at Bernie's Needle and Foot Etsy shop.

It will be the backing for my Harmony quilt.  I need to get that prepped for hand quilting - hopefully this week!

What is your favorite genre of music?

I love all kinds of music!  I enjoy singing along with 60s classics, country-western, and Broadway musicals.   I also love groups like Celtic Women, Enya, and soloists like Celine Dion or Josh Groban. 

This week I've also been working on this April One Stitch at a Time club design,

and making good progress.  See the little bluebird?  I'm sure he's singing a pretty song!

Thanks, again, Cathie!  Sharing at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

A stitch here, a stitch there!

With my 15 minutes a day sewing plan for this week, I've been able to get a little bit done!  It reminds me of back before I retired from teaching, and that's all the time I had to sew, but still things were accomplished.  Not a lot at one time, but something!

This week I played with all the colors!

Three arrows for the Follow Your Own Path QAL going on at mmmquilts:

And pieces and parts for a green one ready to sew the next time I have 15 minutes.   These are quick to sew together!

I also sewed up one wonky star in light blue as a leader/ender in between arrows to finish up May.

I'm going to continue my 15 minutes a day sewing goal for the coming week, and hope I can make four more arrows.  Maybe I'll even get some red scraps out for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in May!

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and at 

mmmquilts' first link-up for the quilt along.

Also at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

And since I was able to grab at least 15 minutes of sewing time 6 out of 7 days this past week, I'm linking up with Kate at Life in Pieces today, too.

 

I Like Thursday #233

Happy Thursday, friends!  Hope you're having a good week.  I was so happy to see my tulips blooming the other day.   After really cold weather and snow the week before, I was afraid they were frozen.

Speaking of pink, I love my mom's pink bedroom in her new apartment!  The quilt on the end of the bed is one I made a few years ago and haven't used much, so I gave it to Mom.  I think it's perfect for her colors there!

Here's my mom in the living room of her apartment.  My brother-in-law made those beautiful stained glass windows for my mom and dad years ago, and they've hung in every house Mom has lived in since then.  So, that was almost the first thing he hung up for her when we were moving her in.

I love my reading friends, both those here in town and all of you in blogland because I always get the best book recommendations from all of you!  I just finished this one, recommended by Carole of From My Carolina Home.

I enjoyed this story of three women who have decided to buy and restore an old farmhouse in Virginia, and all their ups and downs.  This is the second in the series,  and I wasn't able to find the first book, but that didn't matter.   This has been the perfect relaxing read for the busy days of the last week or so.  I'll definitely look for the next book!

Joining in with LeeAnna and friends at Not Afraid of Color for I like Thursday.