Monday Meanderings 11 -- 11 -- 2024

It's been a week! Just as I wrote the first paragraph of my blog the power went off.  We gave up and went to bed to read on our Kindles.  And, almost fell asleep but the power went back on -- maybe 10?  I got up to turn off all the lights and tv and then crashed.  Monday I was busy most of the day so, nope, no blog writing until Tuesday. 

We've had a lot going on.  I've decided I'm cutting back on my news reading.  I am happier and less stressed if I read or listen to audio books.  In fact, 4 ebooks and 1 audio book were read in the last week.  I was actually reading several books at the same time so three of them were finished the same day! Weird -- I know.  But all that reading did not stop me from getting a lot of green check marks. Yea! Here are the details. 

11/4/24

✅Attend machine mastery class — done. Boy there is a lot to learn!

✅Work on Christmas ornaments -- 3rd one is started.

✅Buy border fab for Frolicking Frogs — done.

✅Quilt a quilt on Ruthie — Malted Mystery is now waiting for binding.

✅Work on one of the unfinished UFOs from this year’s list — Fall Appliqué blocks. Mostly figured out what fabric I'd use, and what I needed to buy to finish it.

✅Finish some more Christmas tree blocks — 5 done, 1 waiting and I think I’ll make two more for a total of 8. I have lots of green scraps. 

Here's a peak at Malted Mystery at the beginning of the quilting process. 

I did spend some time finding binding for this quilt.  I would have liked the green or the orange fabric but I didn't have enough. However, I had a bunch of the dark purple. (Yes, it is purple but it often looks black in pictures.) You can see the whole top here. Doesn't the dark purple look black? 

The UFO pick was 12 which I listed as "Pick something to work on in Dec." Except I should have said something like pick something to work on -- cause, yep, Dec wasn't pulled in December.  Not to worry. I decided to revisit 6" Fall Appliquéd blocks.  I listed them twice over the year. The 1st time I turned the blocks on point and added fabric to make them 8.5" blocks. When they came up in September . . .  nope, didn't do anything with them.  Fast forward to November and I'm planning to put this top together.  

I know, this pic looks weird.  I was trying to figure out which color would be the best background.  The orange won out over the light mauve mainly because you can't really see that color in the black that surrounds the blocks. Plus none of the blocks have that mauve in them.  Good reason.  Sharon asked me if I really wanted the sunflower's leaves pointing up and down. Um, no -- but I did want the directional black fabric to be going the same way as all the others. Yep, I took off the triangles and turned it so the leaves would be going right to left rather than top to bottom. 

While at the quilt shop yesterday I purchased an orange gold fabric to do a small inner border. I'd tried every thing close to orange or gold to use but nothing struck my fancy. So I picked up something that should work well.  I hope to have this a top without the final border by next week so I can buy the final border for it when I go for my last mastery class. I'm ready to finish this one off. 

Here are goals for this week. 

11/11/24

Bind Malted Mystery quilt

Attend 3rd machine mastery class

✅Buy binding and bind Lone Star -- weird that I've already done half of this goal! 

Put border on Frolicking Frogs

Put Fall Appliqué together including inner border 

Quilt a quilt on Ruthie 

I've been really good about getting my time in the studio.  Here's my current info: 

W/ending 11/10  — 315 days in to 2024. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7
• 15 minute days/Nov = 10/10
• 15 minute days/2024 = 306/315 days
• Success rate = 97.%

I'm happy with my continued success. I've actually done a little of cleaning up of the sewing space some days. (Note - very little but I can tell I've put stuff away!) 

Have you bought any Color Catchers lately?  I used up one box and started another a couple of weeks ago.  Um, here are the two (from different boxes). I used these in the load with the blue wide back fabric I bought on quilt retreat.  

Can you guess which one was the old box and which was the new box?  Yep, the smaller one is the new.  But what has me wondering is how different the two sheets are regarding color.  As I have no other of the old ones left I'm concerned the new one aren't working as well as the old ones do. Here's what the 10/22 looked like along with two brand new ones I used today.  There wasn't a lot of fabric in the washer: 1.5 yards of a very dark navy blue, less than a yard of a green, and a fat quarter of dark blue with different colored words on it.  Um -- so why did the two new Color Catchers not attract any colors -- maybe a muddy blue? The 10/22 was the lighter colored one from above.  Very weird! Let me know if you're using the new version of Color Catchers and whether you've seen a difference.

And, FYI, I do wash all fabric that comes into my house.  I didn't at one time but after piecing and hand quilting a Christmas quilt that bled like crazy I always wash new fabric unless it's strips, charm squares, or layer cakes. How about you?  Are you a fabric washer before sewing? 

I'm linking with these parties: Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap!, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings,  and To-Do Tuesday Linky Party.

It's time for a Sunny update.  Since the last time I wrote about her she has been having lots of scratching issues.  She seemed peppy and happy. Although she had scratched off a lot of her fur on her muzzle and above her eyes. She'd been chewing and scratching at her legs.  Last Monday we took her back to the vet and her yeast infection was back. So she got a couple of new medicines. They are Apoquel for itch, Ketoconazole for fungal infection, and Simplecef, an antibiotic to treat strains of bacteria. Yikes! She is still getting baths 3x a week. And a monthly Cytopoint shot.  We've changed her to a food specifically for better skin and cut out other food. (She likes Salmon and every once in a while we'd give her some of that.) 

Fast forward a week and we have a new dog.  She's been playful, doing zoomies, and she's started to play with a squeak toy. She has a new pep to her step.  Here's a pic I just took of her.  You can see she's just beginning to grow her muzzle hair. But her tail and back hair has grown in thickly.  We're hoping she'll actually look like a West Highland Terrier by Christmas.  

 It's time I get on with the day.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

All-Star Sampler

Recently, I read on someone's blog that she didn't think anyone would be interested in finishing a project.  Guess what! People do finish other people's unfinished projects. 

Virginia Star Quilters received a plastic box with several finished blocks, extra fabric, a couple of sample blocks, a ruler, and a book, All-Star Sampler. The Community Outreach chair person passed it on to me to see if I would finish it -- or at least do something with it.  There were 9 blocks finished and one nearly finished.   I looked in the box soon after I got it and freaked out. The blocks were beautiful star blocks. There were two settings both with feathered star blocks. The project had been a block of the month project from a store according to a note the quilter left. She said she started it in 1999. The piecing is exquisite.  Take a look at the blocks she's finished.

I originally thought I'd finish another block that is nearly done. And, maybe make one more so there will be 12 blocks.  Um, er, I don't make complicated blocks for the most part. Most, if not all, of these have set in seams. My plan now is to pull out my trusty Circle of Nine book and choose a setting.  No doubt any of them in that book would be easier than the settings in the book, All Star Sampler by Roxanne Carter.  You know I'm not making a feathered star block -- although I have and I actually could.  But, no, not for this. 

After texting back and forth with Nancy, the Community Outreach person, we decided one of the Circle of Nine quilts would work. We think the finished quilt might be a raffle quilt, or possibly donate to another organization to use as a fund raiser. Here's what the design will (hopefully) look like. As shown it would be 68" square. The blocks are 12" and the outside border is 8.5".  I'm not sure it will end up that big but it's what we're thinking about.  

I did an inventory of all the fabric that was included.  The multicolor print on black ground has a whole bunch of fabric already cut at 6.5".  Other fabrics have 2 yards or less.  If I remember correctly the "F" rectangles need about 2 yards. Hum, I just noticed the light background squares "D". There isn't a lot of background left -- hopefully just enough.  If we're lucky,  the only fabric that will be purchased is the backing. 

I'll keep you posted as I begin to work through this challenge.  I doubt it will be high on my list to complete soon but I should be able to finish it if I work on it off and on over the next few months. Part of my issue is I'm trying to finish a lot of my UFOs and quilt some of the many tops I have.  And, a surprise group of quilts for a customer.  I'll be busy. 

Have you decided what you will do with your stash, sewing machines, UFO's and finished quilts? I mean, when you are either not around or unable to keep working on them?  

I have a plan -- my daughter will be responsible for moving out my sewing supplies. She's a quilter but she has a tiny little sewing space so she's not going to be able to keep most of what I have. (Remember, books, rulers, threads, long arm, old projects -- the list just keeps on going.) I will try to leave some ideas of where she can donate quilts and supplies to that will benefit others. 

She rolls her eyes at me when I tell her I've gotten rid of things.  A while ago I gave away a big bag of paper panto patterns for long arm quilting. *eye roll* I was happy to pass it on to a lady who had a fairly new long arm and was thrilled to take them. (I'm also working on my yarn collection making frame knit hats.) 

I am continuing to move UFOs into tops. I've cut back on fabric buying -- except for specific projects or backing. I think in the last 2 or 3 years I've only gotten a 3 or 4 books. I sporadically sell some of my supplies or give them away on the free table at the guild.  So I am trying.  But I hope to never give up on quilting. If I have any luck sewing through my fabric collection it would be some what easier.  Have you put any thought into your quilting supplies? 

I'm linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Alycia's Finished or Not Friday, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Beauties Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty.  Take some time to visit. A lot is  going on with quilters around the world. I'll be back to link up the other posts on Friday -- if I remember... UGH! Saturday morning and I finally remembered! 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie