Monday Meanderings 2 - 17 - 2025

It seems like last week I was talking about a snow storm coming our way.  We got 4" of wet snow.  Guess what? There's another one coming in this week.  Late last week the European Model suggested we could get 16 - 20" of snow. EEK!  Luckily, the forecasters are now predicting the storm will move further south and are suggesting 2" or less.  I'll let you know what we actually get.  We've already had more snow this year than in the last decade. On the other hand I have been staying in and playing in the studio.  But you won't believe that when you see my goals list. 

2/10/25

Bind baby Quilt — chose binding, still need to cut and sew it on. 

Quilt another top — loaded but not stitched.

Finish '22 McConnell mystery top — still needs the border. 

✅Make 2 napkins and a placemat — all 3 done. 

✅Make more Potato Chip blocks — only need two more to make top.  

Find a backing or two for some tops I have ready to quilt — didn’t  look. 

Here are a couple of pictures of the napkins I made.  After our youngest graduated high school we took a family trip to Switzerland and Austria.  It was a great trip and I was able to buy a nice hunk of fabric in Austria. Because this HS graduate is now much older (um, he's 42!) you have a good idea how old the fabric is. But here's the first finished napkin and the backing fabric. (No, I didn't quilt these napkins.) 

        

I also used another orphan block to make a placemat. No, these items do not go together. We're keeping the napkins to use every day. The placemat will be given to the charity committee at my local quilt guild. 

Hum, I thought the binding (which I pulled around from the backing) looked better in person. This was put on my white flannel design wall for the pic. The flannel looks pink to me... weird coloring might explain my questioning the binding. 

Here's a pic of the red, white, and blue quilt that has been loaded on Ruthie, the long arm. I was going to do a few rows after I loaded it but something wasn't working correctly so I just turned everything off for the night. It should start up just fine the next time I start it. 

I didn't take any pictures of the finished potato chip blocks.  So, let's get to the goals list for this week. 

2/17/25

Make blocks for FCQ EQuilter of the month

Quilt rwb top

Bind flannel quilt

Sew border on ’22 McConnell mystery top

Quilt another top? 

I also had a FaceTime sewing session with my friend Sharon so that we could make the next block for the Cali-Co BOM Mystery.  Sorry no picture to share. I've been really happy with my fabric choices so far. Although I will admit to using a whole lot of premade HSTs.  I'm looking forward to the next block.

For a couple of weeks I've been trying to figure out what color backing fabrics I need for a couple more tops.  I finally decided to update my Tops to Be Quilted list. Here's what the first page looks like. I laughed at myself when I read my title: Updated 2/9/245. Say what? I need to go on the computer and fix that. 

FYI, this is only page one. I have 10 more listed on the back side. So, do the math, I have 27 quilts waiting to be quilted.  No wonder I am trying to quilt at least one every week these days. Some of these are fairly small and I plan to quilt them on my domestic machine. I've put several on my UFO challenge list and I need to make sure I have backings for all of the ones on that list. 

And, in non-quilting activities I made a cherry pie for Valentine's Day.  I use a recipe from an old Betty Crocker Cook Book.  But when I tried to buy canned cherries in water I was unable to find them at two of our local stores. I finally bought a bag of frozen pitted cherries. Here is a picture before it was baked.  It's been really tasty. Darn, we only have one piece left. 

I got distracted Sunday night when I usually write my blog so it didn't get done. On  Monday I don't have much time until late afternoon. Long way to say I'm really late posting this blog.  Don't forget to take a look at some of these Linky parties so you can see what quilters are doing across the globe. 

Oh Scrap

Stitching Stuff

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings 

Hope you are staying warm and doing a lot of stitching this week. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Christmas in July Blog Hop Day 4!

Welcome to Day 4 of Christmas in July Blog Hop sponsored by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  That link will take you to Sarah's first day of Christmas in July.  Have you seen the great quilt she has designed for this year's blog hop?  If not check it out -- it just might be something you have to make this year. 

I'm all about Christmas ornaments and cookies for the blog hop.  I've been making ornaments for my grandchildren for 10 years or so.  I make 4 ornaments a year for the 3 girls and one boy.  Sometimes they all get the same ornament and sometimes I vary the colors and or designs.  Here's a review of some of the ornaments I've made.  (Sad to say I couldn't find pictures of all the ornaments. Say what????) All the pictures should enlarge if you click on them.  

2013

2014 

2015 

2018

2019

2020

That's a good variety. I gave up the counted cross stitch ornaments as I would make so many mistakes reading the graphs.  Then I decided machine embroidery would be a bit faster and I could add my initials and the year on the back. I often pick designs from Embroidery Library which is where the stars are from. The Safety First Gingerbread ornament is by Urban Threads and is stitched in the hoop.  The one shown above is my sample attempt. 

This year I'm trying some hand embroidered designs. I bought a cute stocking pattern second hand. I've been unable to find information on the company on the Internet. If you've got a link to them please let me know and I'll add the info. (The date on the pattern is 2006 so it may not be in business still.) Thanks to Linda I can add one place to buy a kit with this pattern: "I found that River Town kit on eBay! It is item #402872383080 and is 6.99 plus 8.50 shipping for the complete kit, if anyone is interested."  I bought only the pattern as the seller had made the stockings.   

Pattern from RiverTown Warehouse LLC

The pattern has the stockings made out of white batting. I started right in but was faced with how to transfer the design from the paper to the batting. Hum, I "thought" I had some pattern tracing paper.  Maybe that would work... Please note the prices: 25¢ and 60¢. 

These are from my grandmother and my mom.  I'm sure I've used the 60¢ version when I made clothes for myself and my kids. But would it still work? 

It's hard to tell, but yes it did work. But I wasn't sure how well it would stay on or would I be able to remove stray marks after I finished. 

It's hard to see but the designs did transfer.

This design has a lot of stitching in it and I wasn't thrilled with the batting. I put it aside and went looking for some wool felt I thought I had.  Fast forward to a different design that didn't lend itself to using the tracing paper and the wheel.  How could I transfer the next image. Hum, perhaps some thin interfacing and a water soluble pen. 

I traced the design on the interfacing with a Micron Pigma pen -- permanent ink.  Then I placed it over the felt and used the water soluble pen to trace the design.  It worked.  Please note -- I did test to make sure the light blue ink would come out of the felt and I tested the floss I was going to use to make sure it wouldn't bleed as this design will have to be spritzed or possibly submerged in water. 

The tree is almost finished.  But part of what makes the little stocking so cute is the blanket stitch used at the top of the stocking and stitching it together.  I'm tickled I have gotten this embroidery almost done.  But it will take me a while to get the blanket stitching done and the stocking together.  I will continue to work on this between my quilting projects.   

I did promise you cookies, didn't I? Forgive me for not actually making hot tea and pouring it out.  It's too hot here these days but these cookies go well with a cuppa. 

Yep, here's my favorite drop sugar cookie recipe.  Go to Google Docs to pick up a copy of the whole recipe.

Are you so busy making ornaments that you really don't have time to bake?  Might I suggest:

Ok, in all honesty -- the cookies shown above were thea mix. Sigh. Remember what I said about time?  My recipe is better than the mix but it takes a bit longer to make.  

Are you ready to visit all the blogs that have already been posted for 12 Days of Christmas in July?  Here's the whole list.  The links go to the blog rather than a specific post. I've enjoyed reading the previous posts and am looking forward to the rest of the posts. 

Wednesday, July 14th

Joy of Days Filled With Joy

Thursday, July 15th

Moira of The Quilted Snail

Friday, July 16th

Jamie of L'Fair Quilts

Saturday, July 17th

Bonnie of In Stitches With Bonnie (you are here!)

Sunday, July 18th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Monday, July 19th

Kate of Katie Mae Quilts

Shasta of High Road Quilter

Tuesday, July 20th

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Wednesday, July 21st

Leanne of The Devoted Quilter

Thursday, July 22nd

Kathy of Kathy's Kwilts and More

Sandra of Musings of a Menopausal Melon

Friday, July 23rd

Carole of From My Carolina Home

Saturday, July 24th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt (Part 2)

Sunday, July 25th

Karrin of Karrin's Crazy World

Hope you find a lot of fun ideas as you browse through all of the Christmas in July links.  It's going to be a great 12 days of ideas and fun. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 2 - 17 - 2020

This was a very productive week on many fronts.

First off is the Valentine's Day "card" I made for my hubby -- a carrot cake (yum) with an attempt to make it pretty.  The colored sugar I was using wasn't fine enough to easily go through the doily I was using to make the design.  Oh well, I tried. 

I also finished piecing Diamond Chain blocks and have started sewing them into rows.  Here's the link to the Missouri Star You Tube video showing how to make the blocks. I've been working on these off and on for several months.  In the picture the bottom row has been sewn together. 

I'm hoping to get two quilts quilted this week.  One is a flannel quilt my friend Marlyn and I made from some cute monkey flannel she had.  The other is a table runner I made last year or so.  I'm hoping to get more of my finished tops quilted this year.  The only issue with that is I just don't have a lot of backing fabric hanging around to use.  I'm hoping to piece some fabric together but I'll probably end up buying more backing fabric.   Sigh.

On to the Panama Canal portion of our vacation.  Our cruise ship was going through just the first lock of the Canal to give passengers the experience.  I woke up early to see what was going on -- probably around 6 am.  It was gorgeous at that time.  A tug came along side.  I believe this is when the pilot boarded the ship and a narrator who explained what we were seeing.   

In the distance you can see the Atlantic Bridge that spans the waters of the Atlantic ocean as it leads into the Panama Canal. 

You can see a few other people were on their verandas watching the action.  I took a slew of pictures but will only show you a few of them.  

Prior to passing through the locks we watched and listened to movies and presentations about the locks and the history.  From 1881 when the French first attempted to build the canal until it was completed in 1914 over 25,000 workers lost their lives.  Many of the deaths were attributed to malaria and yellow fever.  Eventually, Dr. Gorgas, a U.S. army doctor, identified the spread of those diseases to mosquitos and began the successful campaign to control mosquitos. 

As each ship heads into a lock  locomotives, called mules, are attached to control its progress through the canal.  There are two fore and two aft on each side of the ship. 

Below you can see a mule at the front and the track that undulates with the land rising with the lock. 

This picture was taken looking straight down from our balcony.  From left to right you can see the deck of the balcony, the balcony rail, part of the black hull, a little water and then the side of the lock.  There is not all that much room between the ship and the lock.  Needless to say, I was not hanging over the balcony railing very long to take this picture


We exited the lock at Lake Gatun.  Many of the passengers had excursions to see more about Panama and the canal.  Only those of us who had excursions were able to disembark.  While we took our tour, the ship went back through the Panama Canal to Colon, Panama where we would meet up with the ship once it docked.  

I was lucky to get this picture of the ship as it started it's journey back through Gatun lock. Although it was cloudy the weather was comfortable for our tour of the Rainforest, Gatun Lake and Live the Experience Panama Canal. 

First up was a drive over the new Agua Clara Locks.  Then we went to the Panama Canal Expansion Visitor Center.  These new locks created a new line of traffic that allowed bigger ships to use the canal.  The new locks opened in June of 2016.  They were built with holding tanks that conserved some of the water that was used to raise and lower the ships.  

We enjoyed a movie, a snack, the view of the locks and a nature walk.  I'll be sharing what we saw on the nature walk and the rest of the excursion for the next blog.  I hope you are enjoying my vacation vicariously.  We had a great time, that's for sure. 

I'm linking up with my normal Monday linky parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making and Design Wall Monday.  Take some time to check out what folks are working on this week. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Monday Meandering and February Stashbusting Statistics

Didn't February zoom by?  It sure seemed so to me.  I was working really hard to finish some projects during those 28 days.  As long time readers know, I keep track of fabric going in and out of my stash.  I had gone a little wild buying fabrics in February although just over 5 yards doesn't qualify as really wild but I do try to contain myself!  I was pleasantly surprised that I used more than 7+ yards in my finishes.  Here's the nitty gritty: 

2019	Fabric In Month	Fabric In Year	Fabric Out Month	Fabric Out Year	Total In or Out Year
Feb	5.330	6.830	7.625	12.75	5.920

Yea me!  We've had so much rain I haven't been able to get pictures of the last two finishes. Maybe we'll have some sunny weather soon and I'll be able to get some pictures.  

Here's what I've been working on the last few days.

I had several quarter square triangles left over from Gridlock that I finished July of 2017. It was time to put them to use in something new. Of course, I didn't have enough so I made lots more and I suspect I have as many quarter square triangles left as I had when I started this project!  

I chose the green fabric as it seemed to fit the plan and it made the quilt seem lighter.  Except, I ran out before I got the quilt near the size I wanted it.  Back to the stash to see what else I could put to use.  Hum, the navy blue with little white designs  might work.  What was truly serendipitous was I was able to come up with a layout where I could use all 17 of the green squares.  I may have enough of the blue to bind it once it gets quilted. I still need to sew the rows together.  Then I hope to find some backing from stash.  It will be donated to a nursing home via my Powhatan guild. 


Check out that quarter square triangle block on the top left.  See that apple fabric?  I bought about 5 yards of it a good 25 years ago.  I used it on the front of quilts and back of quilts since I first got it.  Sharon and I made at least 1 if not 2 quilts together and used some of it.  I was surprised that I had any left but here it is, again.  I'm not even sure if this is the end of it or not!  It might be in a scrap bag somewhere.  Talk about the fabric that just keeps on coming. 

I had a good week goal-wise but several of my goals were things I really wanted to do.

February 25, 2019

Quilt Granny Blocks Quilt√ quilted and bound

Work on dog tumbler quilt√

Sew the quarter square triangles quilts together √ need to sew the rows together

Go to QOV sew-in√

Attend genealogy gathering√ 

Attend Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show √

And this is what I hope to work on this week:

March 4, 2019

Sew quarter square triangle rows together

Plan T shirt quilt and start to add stabilizer to shirts

Hand Quilt on Old Christmas Quilt

Quilt Heron top & bind 

Plan backing for quarter square triangle quilt

Pat and I went to a couple of Potluck dinners last week.  I thought this little rice crispy dessert was so cute I had to take a picture to share. I have no idea how the maker got the rice crispys so red but I loved the face.  Smile is half of an Oreo, nose is a peanut M&M, whites of the eyes are upside down white candy melts.  No idea what the blacks of the eyes were.  Only sad part of this whole cute dessert was -- yuck I didn't like the taste of the red rice crispy.  Are there strawberry flavored marshmallows?  Or maybe just the food coloring didn't taste great.  It was probably better that I didn't eat it.  But I thought my grands would have loved it.

That's it for now.  Here are my regular linky party link ups.  Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Moving It Forward, and Main Crush Monday.  I hope you will spend some time to see what people are working on these days. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie

OMG Finish!

After dithering and asking for advice, I finally decided I just needed to quilt and bind my OMG quilt this month.  I considered removing partial rows to make it rectangular.  I considered adding a border. I considered all sorts of ideas but in the end... I quilted it and bound it.  Possibly a win-win situation as I have now crossed off another UFO which wasn't my actual OMG for February. (Hum, maybe time to start a new quilt?) 

I have pretty much given up sewing the final side of a binding by hand.  I am much more interested in finishing rather than spending hours hand stitching down the binding.  I apply the binding to the wrong side of the quilt using my walking foot.  Then I pull the binding around to the front and use matching thread in the bobbin and on the top.  I try to stitch very close to the folded edge on the binding and usually have pretty good results.  The back may not be perfect but these quilts are not going into judged shows.  (You should be able to click on any picture and see a larger version of it.) 

I use a lot of Wonder Clips when I do binding whether by hand or machine. They work very well.  

And, less you think I don't do anything but quilt and think about quilting, Wednesday afternoon I replenished our supply of homemade meatballs.  After cooking them (in the oven) we freeze them on cookie sheets and later throw in a Ziplock bag so we have a quick meal.  Yum! 

Yesterday's trip to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show was great fun.  I'll share my small collection of purchases and a few pictures probably on Monday.  

Today I'm linking up with Red Letter Quilts for the OMG Finish Party and  Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

Happy Quilting All!