Enjoying a sunny lazy Saturday morning here. Neither Bob nor I are much for sleeping in, even on days that we don't go to work we have that internal alarm clock problem. Amazingly, there was a day on my last retreat that I slept until about 9:00, and that is rare!
A summary of what I have been working on lately--
For the Bear Patch "I Can Sleep In My Own Bed" retreat last weekend, I put together a mystery block for those attending. This is the second time I have done this, so I made it a 12" block just like the previous one. That way, if someone wanted to combine the patterns they would at least be the same size. I break down the steps of construction and dole them out slowly until the big reveal. The store provides pieces of coordinated fabrics to be used. It is fun to see the responses from the ladies. This is the block we made:
Because we had some interest when Debbie posted this on
Facebook, I will be writing it up as a pattern in about 6 months. I have started on that process, and looking at everything from a tablerunner to a large quilt.
Another pattern I am working on, a custom order for my mom to use for making a quilt for Dan! She found this block in a magazine, then asked me to help by making a bigger quilt than the magazine showed. Thanks to
EQ6, it's not so laborious as working it out with paper and pencil. During Dan's last visit home, he showed me blue and green fabrics that he really liked, so those will be incorporated. At first I used a gold for the star points, but that was voted off the island. Then I tried this dark red, and that seems to satisfy.
Another part of the beauty of EQ6 is the ability to make those changes easily, then export the diagram and send to mom and Dan for their feedback. I'm really fortunate that I have a mom who is handy with a computer so we can make good use of our time this way. The program also calculates the total yardage needed, but I always do some double checking with my trusty calculator. It's never been wrong, but sometimes I end up changing the yardage for borders depending on how I lay them out. Dan's original fabric picks were batiks, they had that good saturated color that he likes. But mom will be hand quilting this, and batiks have a higher thread count than typical quilting cotton, so that can make it harder to "needle" by hand. I have found some very close color matches in regular quilt fabric to be used instead. So this week my goal is to get the yardage cut, directions organized, and maybe even mailed! The block uses a Tri-Recs ruler for cutting the star points, and I have an extra of that to send along, too. This should be a good project to get mom through at least a good chunk of winter!
My mind must be in a creative mode, because I also have been playing around with a couple of ideas for a future quilt, looking towards Quilt MN 2014 next August! Here's a couple samples from my design wall--
Not sure what will come out of it, but I am trying to get a head start!
I quilted 2 baby quilts for a customer this week, here is one--
Non-traditional colors, to be sure, but that is more and more the style that young moms choose for their nurseries. Given the right combo of print and color, it pulls together. Orange elephants are cute!
A couple weeks ago, we went on our annual Hansen family hayride. It was a gorgeous day, and here is Larry wandering in the sumac on the edge of the little county park we use as a gathering point.
There is a shelter house there that has a big stone fireplace, perfect for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows after the ride. We had a good time.
A milestone for Bob and I happened this week, when we decided to shop for a new sofa (couch, davenport) to address the problems with our aging bodies and furniture. We need firmer cushions, low back support and seat width that prevents slouching. We have perused 3 furniture stores, done many tush tests, and finally last night came to an agreement on a couch plus a chair! Delivery will take a few weeks, but I am glad to be over that hurdle!
While viewing all of the great furnishing ideas, I came across this dining room set that really caught my attention. I don't need a new dining table/chairs, but our chair seats could use reupholstery. If I am going to do that, maybe I should experiment with some paint, too?
Actually, I just need someone to do this for me and I would be happy! We shall see what we can work out!
Here's an example of when I should learn to leave well enough alone--
My oven. Which had not been cleaned in quite a long time. Used the self-clean cycle on Tuesday. Nice and clean, and staying that way because now the control panel won't work! During the clean cycle the door locks and the controls lock. After the cycle finished, the door unlocked but forgot to tell the control panel to unlock! We managed to slide the oven out from the wall enough to unplug and re-plug, hoping that would reset the control. No luck. Waiting for the service guy who is supposed to come tomorrow. With a little luck we will be back in working order without a lot of hassle. Keep your fingers crossed!
***** "In the end, what affects your life most deeply are the things too simple to talk about." *****
