A NEW START

I had fun cutting up strips for the latest scrap QOV top.  This is the Contessa pattern for Jelly Rolls;  you are going to see this quilt for several other colorways, too.  I am so enjoying it! 

A thank-you to Sara for the link for this pattern--and the inspiration!

I'm still plugging away at the quilting frame. 

 I have to get going but I have to admit, it does sometimes bore me to stand there doing this but it is going well and looking good. 

 I would prefer to be piecing but I do like to be able to complete my own quilts from start to finish!!!!

 

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

I've had several down days;  it happens when I have too many busy days in a row!  I did appreciate the time to finish the large painting.  What a wonderful activity for me!  All the pleasure of 'real' painting without the pressure of drawing one! 

 The blending and additional touches are just a bonus!

As soon as I finished the large one, 

I started the 'I love you!' gift my dil sent in the mail!  

Lena liked the down days and took full advantage of having a napping buddy! 

I'm looking forward to some piecing and a bit of time at the quilting frame today!

 

A WHIMSICAL FINSH

 I finished putting the binding on the fussy cut block quilt!  It turned out cute. I will wash and dry it today-

after my outing with my quilting friends yesterday,

 I didn't have the oomph to do much else! 

 It was worth it , though, to be with them!  (42 x 55")

QUIET WORK

I know you won't believe it, but I have another Sea Haven sweater on the needles!  I have never enjoyed a sweater so much because it is interesting, a perfect fit and gorgeous yarn!  The yarn is from Drops, Cotton Merino.  I will now have 5 of these short-sleeved tops but I tend to do that with something I like-buy one of each color kind of thing, I mean!

I've also been enjoying this paint by number!  This one has a lot of color mixing with many complain about but I like to mix the colors and get to play a bit with my own ideas, too.  

I'm off to lunch today with several quilt friends;  they have been faithful to include me and keep in touch.  

We will laugh and cry and eat and did I say laugh?  

 

JUST FOR FUN!

I was given this kids quilt with most of the squares cut out and just one cow block with all of the fabric to make the rest.  For some reason, I pulled the pile out and sewed it together! 

 A very satisfying job it was, too.

And then I remembered some black/purple fabric for the backing and lo and behold--it was even better than I remembered because it fades into a darker version of colors!  Perfection!  

This was the rosy, golden view out of my bedroom window last night!  My room faces east but the setting sun casts such beautiful colors even over the eastern sky!  A very peaceful sight.

 

WHAT?! A TNT!

I made some embroidered cards!  

Jennifer Maker has these Cricut patterns and many more

 to make embroidered cards.

They are a snap to cut and soon enough I was stitching, 

even though my 'aim' was very off

 but did improve as I kept working at it!

This wreath took a bit longer but was more enjoyable for me!

  It seems the glue leaked through and smeared the 'p' from the card that is used to hide the back of your work. 

 These cards are blank on the inside

 but I rarely lack for words to write in my own!  

I must say the hardest part was getting my fingers 

to hold the needle without fumbling!

 

APPRECIATING BEAUTY

The quilt is off the frame;  it will go back to the QOV group to the woman who will trim and bind it.  It was fun to be able to be a part of the assembly!  I will be picking up a few more tops to do the quilting on later this week.

Look how pretty my Swedish Ivy is!!!

I don't remember it ever blooming before!  

 

ALMOST TO THE BORDERS

  I worked at the quilting frame until my laser light died,

 then I was able to concentrate on piecing the rest of the blocks.  And when I finished all of the blocks, I pieced the rest of the rows and have all but a few sewn to its neighbors!  

THE TRUMPET SOUNDS

Look at the beautiful comeback for the Angel Trumpet plants!  

So many blooms on these 10' high stalks!

The flower itself is about 10" long.  A very faint pleasantness

 but no real aroma just beauty in form is more than enough!

We went to Matthew's to celebrate his birthday;

the first's in grief are the toughest.

 It was good to be with each other.

 

A LLITTLE ATTENTION EVERYDAY ADDS UP!

I worked at the frame until I was too tired to stand up anymore.  I was pleased with the progress just the same!

When I sat down, I pieced another couple of 

rows and pieced enough red/white blocks for the next row! 

 A good day in the studio!

 

AUTUMN ANTICIPATION

The wall hanging and and placemats are completely completed! 

 I applied the binding to all the edges which was quite the marathon!  The set is called Autumn Vibes.

The placemats are 18" x 11".

The panel is 48" x 24".

I ended my creative energies on loading up a QOV quilt.  (I didn't make the quilt, I am only doing the quilting portion of its making!)

 

STITCH AWAY!

The Traverse QOV is getting some diagonal rows! 

 I am not done with the red/white blocks

 but I just couldn't wait to start sewing this together!

I pieced the halloween fabric and have it all ready for the frame. Since I was using the disappearing 9-patch I tried to be very random  and accomplished it which is hard for me! 

 (I don't do random! lol)

 

SHOP HOP 2025 FINISHED!

It is a big finish for the ALL FLORIDA SHOP HOP OFF 2025!  It is the first one that I actually finished in the same year as the Hop!!!   

And I am very close to having this wall hanging and placemats off the frame and ready for binding!

I will work on them as soon as I get back from a check-up at the doctor's.  The doctor I saw in June has left the practice and so I don't know who I will be seeing today.  It is frustrating to 'break in' a new one!

ONE NUMBER AT A TIME

I have started a new paint-by-number project;  this one is bigger (16' x 20") and more detailed. I am thoroughly enjoying it!  Since I am doing the lifting and carrying, I am needing some more down time and I love picking up the paintbrush to add a few strokes!

Bill is doing great after the stem cell procedure--he's trying hard to not use his arms too much--no moving his elbows away from his body!  You try that for an hour! lol  Anyway, he is doing very well and is already feeling improvement in his shoulders from resting them, too.  He is allowed short drives and he can use the golf cart as long as he goes slowly and carefully with hands low on the steering wheel.

We have church and a carry-in meal today and then back home for the Sunday nap!

JUST A LITTLE MATH

When something looked wrong while placing the setting triangles, 

I looked at the photo on the front of the pattern and saw that I had placed the pieces of the quilt a bit differently and that meant that I had to change every square to rearrange it!  Good for me! lol

I had to do a bit of math to cut the triangles along the outside; 

 I do prefer to cut them oversized so that I don't have to worry about cutting off a point when I place the straight border on.  I just make them a bit bigger but a 'bit' isn't too accurate 

but I knew how to figure it out!

See how the triangle will go beyond the light blue areas?

  It's called insurance! lol

And I finished up the quilting on this one and trimmed up the edges--today it will get its binding! 

 And I will be loading up a fun  new project onto the frame!

Bill is doing great considering and got a good report from the PCP follow-up appointment !

 

STEM CELL THERAPY

We left early yesterday to head to St Augustine to the clinic for Bill's appointment.

As we crossed the intercoastal waterway, the tide was low and calm.

We were checked in quickly and soon Bill was called in.  They told me to head out and run errands because it was going to be at least 3 hours!  As I went into town ten minutes away to visit Hobby Lobby and Michael's, Bill went in and had 7 ounces of fat removed from his stomach to mix with his own blood to inject into his shoulders which have become so painful that he has a very limited range of motion.  This therapy is called ADSCs; What are ADSCs?

• ADSCs are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) found in adipose (fat) tissue.
• They have the ability to differentiate into various cell types and can self-renew.
• They are abundant, easily accessible, and relatively low in immunogenicity compared to other stem cell sources.   

Bill will have 5-6 weeks of very limited use of his arms to let the shoulders heal.  Did you know that your stomach fat is this color?!  It was a shocker to us!

We stopped to take a quick peek at the ocean (right across the street from the clinic).

We are grateful God gave us a doctor who offers a wonderful alternative to surgery!

 

ROLE REVERSAL

I made several more of the red/white blocks, cut out all of the navy squares. I did look over the instructions for cutting the setting triangles but will save them for another day! lol

Today, I am driving Bill to have stem cell injections into both shoulders!  It should prove an enlightening day for both of us!  

The office for the procedure is about an hour away and today,    I am the taxi driver, the nurse and the rule enforcer!  

He has been in so much pain that we are hoping and praying this will give him the relief so many others have received from this treatment!  I will fill you in tomorrow on how it went!

 

A LOT OF CUTTING OUT!

I finished the rest of the blue/white blocks-48 in all.

Then I tackled the red and white blocks and only completed one--there are a lot more pieces and it's a bit more fiddly 

but it will really bring the quilt to life! 

 (The pic looks like a duller red than it really is!)

I also cut up the halloween fabric--6" squares almost randomly sewn into 9-patches from the 6 fat quarters.

And then I chopped them up into a disappearing 9-patch! 

 I will most likely have enough for a table runner 

and will sew the blocks together when they are all cut up 

so I can play with them!

 

A NEW LEASE ON LIFE

Today marks the one year 'anniversary' of my brush with death from Septic Shock due to a misdiagnosis of appendicitis!  It has been quite the year but I must say, I am mostly feeling better for several hours each day at least!  I am very thankful for the extension of my days to spend with family and friends!

This set of Fat Quarters was from last year and since I was not doing any sewing at that time, I dug it out now to contemplate a project for it!  I am not a halloween person so I could just leave out the snake and skull fabric because I do like the black/white and orange of the other fabrics!

I also pulled out this QUV project and began to actually cut and piece!  (I had done all of the instruction deciphering several months ago but that was as far as I got!)

Now I have the first 18 of 48 of these blocks sewn!  I will be doing more of this today!

 

MORE TOPS FOR THE PILE!

While sewing on multiple borders is not a thrill to me, I did stop whining long enough to sew all three to this Stars and Stripes quilt!

And I completed the piecing for this top with only one border!