SAL progress, and gift exchanges

Earlier this year I mentioned a SAL Lori, at Humble Quilts blog,  was hosting. She is making red and neutral Tree of Life blocks--2 per month for the year (intro to SAL HERE, instructions for block HERE). I wanted motivation to work on a two-color quilt I have in the works, so though I am using a different block and a different color, I decided to join in on her schedule. (The house placement didn't look so tipsy until I looked at them in this post.)

I started out making house blocks from a magazine pattern about 4 years ago, and only had 5 made when I bought the AccuQuilt Schoolhouse die. They are 1 1/2 inches smaller than the first 5 blocks, but I get them made much quicker. You can see how I am toying with ways to fit the mismatched sized blocks together in a type of center "medallion". The rest of the quilt will have sashing and cornerstone blocks, like the original magazine pattern I started making.

The quilt shop over the mountain (Village Dry Goods) has added a large classroom area, and once a month they host something there that they call "Chitchat, Finish That." Ruth, a good friend from my guild, and I tried it for the first time this month.

It can accommodate about 20 people, but there were only around 15 there this time. I took the photo when a few were still at lunch. It is a great space, with ironing stations, and a large cutting table--and the table in the center was for shared snacks. I like that there is a shelf above each table. A nice place for your phone, and drink, without losing them in the clutter, or spilling on your project.

My earlier efforts on this house quilt had yielded 16 blocks, but I haven't made any in the last couple of years. So last week I got my six house blocks for the SAL from January through March completed during the 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. "Chitchat" timeframe. I made my first April block at home the next day, and I have my other April block, plus my first May block, cut and waiting. I will be caught up very soon.

Ruth and I agreed that it was well worth the $10 fee to have a dedicated day to be able to really focus and make good progress without the distractions that surround you at home. I will be out of town on the next  Chitchat day in May, but we have already secured our spots for June.

I don't often post gifts from other bloggers, but I just have to share the amazing things that came home with me from Australia and New Zealand. Seeing it all together took my breath away.

   L to R: Chooky, Lou, Janice

    L to R: Julie, Raewyn, Betty

Thanks to everyone--can't say that enough! I love it all, and I have to mention some things that are missing from the photos. Raewyn and I have the same auto-immune disease, and when I was diagnosed, she gave me a lot of good advise. So along with the tea towel (I love getting tea towels from the places we visit) and the cute kiwi bag she made, she had also baked a banana cake and a batch of ginger cookies for me. I love home baked goods, but usually only eat what I bake, due to the precautions you must take with celiac disease. But I knew I could trust Raewyn's baking, and I was excited to have baked goods again after two weeks without. I tore into the banana cake with my bare hands on the spot (Raewyn and Julie can attest to that). I also nibbled on ginger cookies all evening and had them for breakfast the next morning. I should have taken photos before I started consuming. Right above Raewyn's gift is Lou's, and you may be able to tell that the jar of homemade jam is not full. That was hubby's doing. He had dipped into it before I could get a photo. Lovely jam. (And that Tim Tam package is empty, but I saved it for the photo. I can't get the gluten free ones here, so it was a treat to eat them while I could.) It is all so thoughtful, from the teeny Japanese house pincushion Julie made, to the local-themed fabrics, bag, and everything in between. Thank you, my friends!

This is the only sewing I did through January and February. Two of then stayed here in the states as gifts for friends, but the rest of them came with me on the cruise. They were in little gift packages that I forgot to photograph, so I lifted the photo below from Julie's blog. If you read her post about our visit, you will know that she lifted a photo from my blog for her post, so this makes me chuckle. :) Thanks, Julie, for sharing this photo. (Her backdrops are always so much prettier than mine.)

If you follow Julie's blog you will know right away why I made her mug rug in the soft floral prints, rather than the bold polka dots. 

One more thing to mention about gifts. My friend, Kris, at Lavender Quilts blog, is a generous gifter. Recently I received a box that contained a Block-of-the-month type kit. Monthly patterns came with the fabrics you needed. Kris figured I wouldn't make the quilt (the blocks are 12" and that is a little large for me) but she knew the fabrics were right up my alley. So I have her okay to offer the pattern to anyone who thinks they might like to make the quilt, or just use the block patterns in some other setting, making them with their own fabrics. The back of each monthly pattern has information about a General's wife from the Civil War. All of the fabric requirements, cutting and assembly instructions are included. And though I couldn't find a finished quilt size anywhere, based on the cutting of the final borders, it should finish just under 90" square. You could make the last border a little wider to go over the 90" mark. Remember, this giveaway is for the patterns only--no fabrics.

Mention in a comment if you are interested. If there is more than one interested party, I will draw a name in a week or so.

Until next time,

Be creative, and be kind.

Janet O.

A couple of days after we returned from our trip, I caught this sunrise.