Looking back

So, another year has already started.   How many of us will survive the virus?  Right now, our area is in lockdown for two weeks.  There is community spread of the virus in our area and the experts are trying to get it under control.  The rest of the province is under lockdown for a month as their cases are higher.

So, I will just sit tight and sew on.  Excursions to get groceries will be limited.

Looking back to last year, for me, it didn't feel like much was accomplished in 2020.  My goodness, but I was sure surprised.  Seven quilts were made.  Seven.  I had to look at the Quilts 2020 tab at the top of my blog (under the large photo) and look to see what quilts were made.  Seven!  What a surprise.  Go there to see them better!

Now, this is where I have to actually look at the stats to see what tops and UFO's were there at the beginning of last year.  It is my way of keeping tabs on what is remaining to be quilted and what UFO's need to be pulled off the shelf and worked on.  It is also to remind my readers that I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to this type of work.  LOL

Tops: 

Ten at the beginning of 2020.  Look at all those x's!  How lovely it was to x off a top once it was finished!

Now for the beginning of 2021 .... only 4 tops!  I'm still debating on sending all of them out for quilting or to keep a few and hand quilt them?   Oh, what to do, what to do?

Quilts that need binding

There are four quilts and they will be worked on during the winter months to help keep me warm while I sit and watch t.v.  A new folder in my files had to be created for these quilts because I actually forgot about the second quilt from the right.  It was quilted back in 2018 and it has been hidden away since then.  You can imagine my surprise when it was discovered recently.  How in the world can you forget about a quilt?  My guess is a good clean up and sort is badly needed in my studio!  LOL

UFO's:

The year 2020 started with 33 UFO's.  Sadly, only three were x'd.  Not as good as I hoped for.

I don't know how it happened, but my UFO's increased to 35 at the beginning of 2021.  Oops.  Can I do better than finish three UFO's this year?  Let's see what can be done this year?  No promises.  No resolutions.   Nope, not going there.

So, that is my recap for the year that wasn't!

Will any new projects be started?  Definitely!  I can't just work on old stuff, you know!  LOL

On another note, it is time to de-clutter our home.  When my Aunt and cousin passed away, it was the task of my sister, her daughters and me to pack up and move their belongings here to North Bay.  A lot of their furnishings are in storage, but boxes are sitting in my studio bedroom to go through and decide their future.  Keep, donate, sell or toss.  They had only an apartment.  We have a house full of stuff.  That was an eyeopener to all of us.   Getting rid of clutter in our home has been ongoing for a month now and we are starting to see the difference.

What about in my studio?  Lordy, that is a topic for another day, but cleaning out has already started.

We all have high hopes for 2021.  Things have to get better?  Right? 

Until we all get vaccinated ..... wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance and don't gather with family and friends.  We are getting close to getting the virus under control and now is NOT the time to drop our guard.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Last finish for 2020

Happy New Year ..... we all hope!  It will be interesting to see how the next few months play out.

I got this quilt finished just under the wire.  What a good feeling to get something finally done!

"Four Seasons" is the name of this quilt.  It looks more like a fall quilt, but there are spring greens and summer greens in the quilt along with yellows of our flowers that grow in our front and back garden.  Look closely and you can even see some snowflakes!

Quilt details:

Started:  April 2014

Finished:  December 30, 2020

Block name:  9-patch block  (7-1/2" x 7-1/2" square).  No pattern.

Quilt size:  60-1/2" x 87-1/4" after washing and drying

Batting:  poly batting

Machine quilted by:  Kathy Wareham of Kat's Quilts

Another UFO ticked off the list.

Done!

I don't know about you, but I'm so happy to see 2020 in the rear view mirror.  It was an awful year starting with the passing of my Aunt last January; Covid-19 hitting the world; my sister being diagnosed with colon cancer and enduring her treatments that ended last month; my hubby being diagnosed with Parkinson's; and finally the passing of a cousin early last month.  Yep, I'm so glad to see the end of 2020.

Hubby and I had a quiet New Year's Eve and day.  No gathering of family.  We will not contribute to the spread of the virus in our community nor amongst family members.

So, until we can all be vaccinated ..... wear a mask, wash your hands and keep your distance.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Going in different directions!

More like spinning my wheels in different directions!  

All the wheels have now been appliqued onto the background strips.  Yeah.  Progress.  Something accomplished!  The photo looks washed out from the bright sunshine spilling into my studio.   It is cold outside (-17C or 1.4F).  It is good that we have snow on the ground, otherwise there would be water pipes bursting.  Still those wheels are something to celebrate.  Now, I can concentrate on assembling all the sections together now.

What else is keeping my hubby and I busy?  Chairs.  These chairs were purchased ages ago from a restaurant that was selling them.  I bought two and my niece brought two with the plans for my hubby and I to redo them.  Well, years passed and we are now dealing with them and all four chairs will be for us.

The before on the right and the after.  Huge difference!

The chairs have been in the dining room since the beginning of September.  You can see the chairs on the left of the photo.  What is everyone doing?  Helping to make cucumber relish.  It is good for others to help with the making so that they can continue when my sister and I can no longer.  We had such good help that day!

So, it has been a mess in my DR and LR for a few months now.  Something always came up that prevented us from tackling them.  This job has been hard on my hubby and I to do this time.  We are no longer young and what was done quickly before, now takes twice or three times longer.

It is our plan to have two done before Xmas as that is our gift to each other.  We will not gather for Xmas and it will be just the two of us for Xmas and New Years.  Next year will be different now that a vaccine (or two or three) is available.  Such good news, but we still must be careful about gathering and wearing our masks when around people not in our bubble.  And washing our hands.  Very important.

This morning, my niece sent me a couple of photos from the past.  She was cleaning up an old USB stick and found these photos of me in my studio in Scarborough.  My T.O. friends will remember gathering there to sit and sew and chat and laugh.  Such good times.

So, that was my week.  What will be accomplished in the coming week.  More chairs done, for sure!  Other things too!

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Wheels keep moving!

I try to work on this project for a few minutes each day.  There are times when I'm just too tired to do much but look and admire what has been done.

Today, it was pinning the wheels to the background fabric to get started.

That wheel has now been appliqued on.  One down, another thirteen to go.  Today, another wheel will be pinned in place and so on.  Perhaps by mid-December, this top should/could be done?  Maybe?

Now, how about a guessing game?  Do you have any idea what this is?

How about a mask for Pixie (Elf on the Shelf)!  She has to have a mask for safe travels back to Santa's workshop!  We all wear masks here in the province of Ontario and that means the elf has to have one too.  She is outside the usual bubble and she has to keep her distance too!

I wonder what my great-nieces will think of this?  Guess I will find out later today as this is the first day Elf appears leading up to Xmas.  This will be the 3rd Xmas she has made her appearance with my great-nieces.  I can still remember the first time that I saw Elf and made the horrible mistake of reaching out and touching her skirt.  Oh my, horrors upon horrors!  That was a definite no-no.  Their Mom had to (and I do mean 'had to') write a special note to Santa telling him how Aunt Rosie didn't know about the no-touch rule and to ask Santa to reset the Elf so that she would function properly.  Last year, the girls reminded me not to touch Elf.  Years down the road, perhaps they might read about this on my blog and know where that mask came from.  LOL

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Wheels on the Cart!

Well ..... all the wheels/stars are done!  Whew, that was a job trying to select fabrics.  My friend, Darlene, asked me if it was designed to have a row of darker hour glass blocks above and below the wheel/stars?  Can you see those rows?  Oh yes, that was intentional!

Hour glass blocks are starting to be sewn together.    

Since there are so many seams, they are being pressed open.  Less bulk at the joins.

See the beige fabric in the wedge part of the wheel/star?  There is none left.  There are enough scraps to make a couple 1-1/2" squares, but that is it.  Close call, eh!

If I wanted the quilt to be larger, it couldn't without introducing a different beige fabric.  That would not be a problem, because I would make it work.  The quilt size will be big enough for a single bed.

Here is another wheel/star.  They were made using EPP (English Paper Piecing) method.  The thought crossed my mind to do them using paper piecing, but EPP is the method that was used instead.

Most of this top has been made from Civil War charm squares; but I did have to dip into my stash a few times to find the right colour that was not in my charms.  

This is what is left of my CW charms.  This drawer was so full that it could hardly be opened.  I'm thinking there might be enough charms to make a thimble quilt, so that will be a new project down the road.  That is, as soon as I find my Dresden Plate template to make the thimbles.  It is somewhere ....

To all my American friends, have a safe Thanksgiving!  We had our Thanksgiving last month and there was a spike in Covid-19 cases afterwards.  Be prepared to see a surge of spikes a few weeks from now.  In our district, we currently have 11 cases (10 from a close contact) of Covid-19.  So far, we have had a total of 65 cases with 1 death.  We take Covid-19 seriously in our neck of the woods!  Wear a mask, wash your hands, regularly wipe down surfaces (your vehicle and your home) and keep your distance.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Linking to:  https://quiltingpatch.blogspot.com/

A bit of progress!

I've been doing a bit of sewing lately and progress has been done on my newest project.  All the hour glass blocks are done and now I'm working on the stars or wheels.  I'm doing something outside the box and those stars are going to go right out into the border.  I'm excited to see how this will turn out!

Update with my sister and her cancer.  After her last treatment next month, her oncologist is going to release her from the treatment program and she will be dealing with her family doctor going forward.  He is very pleased with her results and this is a man of few words.  Good news, for sure!

I just dropped her off for her IV treatment this morning and will be back to help her later this afternoon.  Stew is already in the slow cooker and tea biscuits will be made later for supper.

My days are busy with her and helping out as much as I can.

So, a day in my studio is most welcome.

Here in Canada, we had our Thanksgiving mid-October and we are now seeing a spike in Covid cases.   Today, across Canada, our new cases are 4981.   The health experts say it is the family gatherings that are the spreaders of the virus.   Family gatherings and travel are not good to do right now.  For those of you in the U.S.A., think about that and don't gather or travel.  My husband and I have already decided that we will not gather for Xmas or New Year's.  Our health are more important now so that we can enjoy family later when Covid is not an issue.  We wear masks and keep our distance and stay away from crowds.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Couldn't help myself!

LOL ..... I just couldn't do it!  Make the pattern as is?  Nope.  Not me.  Mind you, the pattern looks ok as is.

So, I was staring at my design wall and thinking ..... you know, it is dangerous when I think ...... what could I do to make it different?

Stars.  Stars are needed.  What kind of stars?  The perfect pattern was found on my EQ 7 and Blockbase.

This is a start.  It may not be the final layout, but a good start.  The stars will float across two rows right into the border.

I feel good about this new project.  It is helping me get my quilting mojo back.

Cherish your day!  Cherish your life!