Monthly Mini for July--late again!

It has been a long time without posting, but I actually had this finished about the middle of July. I just couldn't  muster enough brain power, or stay awake long enough to write a post whenever I had any time.

This is my July Monthly Mini with Wendy over at The Constant Quilter blog, making its late appearance. I am calling it Deep Purple--and if that name makes you start singing the song, then your age is showing. :)

My very random scrap creation (described in my previous post) received mostly ditch-stitching with a little bit of free motion in the border. This photo gives you a little glimpse of it.










When I get a chance to spend time in my sewing room lately I find myself too mentally and/or emotionally drained or distracted to focus on a project and make progress. I end up shuffling a few things around and basically accomplishing nothing.

We took Mom to an oncologist this week. He was very fun and we laughed so much. That was a blessing, because my Mom likes to keep things lighthearted at the doctor's office, even when talking about terminal cancer. She is opting for no treatment, so we are having a hospice evaluation today.

When visiting with Mom I always take handwork with me, and if she is resting, or we are just watching TV together, I pull out my hexie flowers and stitch them to their backgrounds. I have doubled their numbers since my last post, and am currently working on #9.

One last quilty thing to share...have you heard of Quilters Select rulers (this link is just one of many sources for them)? A dear friend of mine has mentioned to me before that she happened upon them and has been so impressed that she is gradually replacing her Creative Grid rulers with the Quilters Select, as the CG rulers get too worn (for me that means I have chipped up the corners too much).
A few days ago I received a little ruler in the mail from my friend and I must say I completely understand her enthusiasm for these rulers--so much so that I have a couple of them ordered now. 
You can see it against the white paper--notice the slight yellow color. That is an amazing treatment on the surface of the back side that makes them practically slip-proof.

I trimmed up a few HST I had on hand (who am I kidding, I have hundreds of them on hand!!) and I couldn't have been more pleased. I wish the diagonal lines went in both directions, but I can work around that. If slipping rulers are an issue for you, even on those great Creative Grid rulers with the little gripper dots, you may want to check these out! No affiliation here, just a very pleased user!

So much family stuff going on this summer--especially regarding Mom. Thanks to those who have checked in with me, and apologies for when I haven't responded. I have fallen asleep many times at the computer when I sit down thinking I will catch up, so instead I give up.

Until next time--whenever that might be,
Janet O.
 

Serving Up Some Leftovers and Other Stuff

As I was cleaning off my cutting table today (long overdue), I was putting some bonus HSTs into my "parts" bowl and decided to get a few little quilts laid out from some of the leftovers there. I pulled out three design boards and soon these were born. I only let myself work with stuff from the cutting table, in the "parts" bowl, or the scrap baskets.

They will be leader/ender projects as I work on the last few deadlined projects for this summer.

I have to admit that feathers have become a favorite for me and Gidget. After trying hyper-quilting recently, I had to do more. I selected a few more batiks and got one of them sandwiched up and quilted. I had to try Fall colors this time because when I go out to work in my garden in the mornings now, there is that nip in the air, even though the daytime highs are still in the 90s. This is in the process of being bound (obviously).
Can't decide whether to do the deep plum or bright orange next.

I wanted to share with you something DD#1 did while she was here. She liked the hexie flowers I did in that little AAQI quilt and wanted to give it a try. When it was time for her to go home she was starting to applique the flowers down and had chosen sashing and binding fabrics.

I am so excited to have a new Koala sewing chair. It is wonderful. I have had lower back trouble since I was about 10 and the lumbar support of this chair feels so good. I saved my pennies (well, dollars, really) for a few months and I have had it for a week now. I think it was money well spent.

Another new arrival is my latest AAQI purchase. When I first saw Jean's little quilts I knew I wanted the R/W/B one. I had read the description, but the size escaped me and I was unprepared for how small it is. This makes me love it even more. You know me and minis! : )  It is now proudly placed in its new home. See it in the lower right-hand corner of my small quilts wall? So cute!

I have volunteered at the county fair Home Arts building for years, and I have usually entered baked goods, or soap, or even some sewing, but I have never entered in quilting. My Mom, who enters a quilt every year, has tried to talk me into it many times, but I have always resisted. This year I decided that Black & Blooms was worth entering. You can see the top of the blue ribbon it received in the bottom of the photo.
Now that looks like a bigger deal than it really is. Everything gets a ribbon in our county fair, so a blue ribbon is good, but there are LOTS of blue ribbons given out. I do feel good about it, though, based on the judges' comments on the judging sheet. They had nothing but good to say.

Another rambling post. Wish I could bake cookies or something for everyone who sticks it out to the end.

Until next time,
Janet O.

Squeaking under the wire--and some quality family time!

 As is my normal MO, I got my last 4 AAQI quilts registered by the skin of my teeth. Within 48 hours of the deadline, these 4 little quilts got registered and are now awaiting their number assignment so that I can send them in. When that time comes I will post about the meaning behind each quilt.

 If you think you have seen the red one before you are half right. This is a remake of the little quilt in my last post.

You may remember my frustration with the batting poking out the back on my first attempt at this design. I received many good suggestions from readers, for which I am very grateful. It helped me realize that I am still quite a novice at this machine quilting stuff and I have a lot left to learn. I spent time searching online for insight into the possible problems mentioned, and learned that many battings have a top and bottom side--and mine was probably upside down, my needles were too big for the thread I was using, and I needed to tweak my tension adjustment on my bobbin. This second attempt wasn't perfect on the back, but the problems were greatly reduced, and I felt better about sending it off.

Aside from these little pieces, there hasn't been much quilting action at my house lately. There have been some major milestones to celebrate. My father turned 90 last week. He is still active and alert and amazing, helping his neighbors and family members in any way he can.

Four days later my MIL turned 85. Here she is pictured with my 4 children. She is still an independent woman, busy serving others in our church and community. I am surrounded by good examples!
 In between those two events we had a family reunion camp out to attend, where 49 of a potential 60 family members (my parents and their posterity) were in attendance.

DD#1 has been here from NH for the festivities and is staying for a couple of weeks. She was intrigued by the little EPP hexie flowers in the AAQI quilt and is well on her way to making such a quilt herself. I think she enjoys this process much more than I do. : )

This is more non-quilty content than I usually share, but that is what has been happening in my life lately, along with concern for the kind of month my youngest grandson had in July.

He loved sitting on his great-uncle's Harley at camp.
Enlarge the photo to get the full effect of his gaze.

You can read about his record month of tonic/clonic (aka grand mal) seizures on DD#2's blog here. He is such a sweetheart! Hopefully someday there will be help for all those who suffer from this devastating form of epilepsy.

Until next time,
Janet O.