T for Terry

1) I think I changed my comments to "moderated." If it didn't work, I'll try again. I have been getting several comments in other languages and regarding goofy stuff not related to me or my interests. So, due to a few I have to make it more cumbersome for all. Sorry about that.

2) Here's some sewing I have done recently. One of the groups I donate to, Wrap-a-Smile (WAS), is coming up on its 20th anniversary. Also, its founder, Terry, is seriously ill. So to celebrate WAS and to honor Terry, some of us decided to make quilts out of T-blocks. (T for Terry.) Here is what I have done so far:

This first quilt is made of all Ts.

This quilt has one T block which is top row, center. Ts are slanted. See?

This quilt has a row of purple/yellow Ts in the middle.

The Ts below are the middle part that look like pistons:

Another volunteer is quilting these for me. Wrap-a-Smile gives quilts to kids who undergo cleft lip/cleft palate surgery all over the world. They get to keep the quilt, of course. If you are interested in donating to Wrap-a-Smile, I'll be glad to give you the information on how, where, and all the deets you need.

More A to Z Blocks

I am continuing to work through my book of blocks in alphabetical order. Here are more of what I have made:

This yellow one was accidentally made 14 inches rather than the standard 12-inch size I was aiming for. And the colors in this photo are off. It was prettier in person.

The last one I made is Contrary Wife (what a name!) There are several more C blocks to work through before I get into the Ds.

Happy sheltering at home, readers!

Solo Sewing

During the quarantine I am doing all my sewing alone at home. I enjoy it, but usually I have at least a once-a-month quilters' gathering which rejuvenates me, and I'm missing that now. Still, I do enjoy sewing when I feel like it and doing whatever I want. Even the quilt projects to which my friends and I donate are not currently in operation, so all the sewing we do is for later. Which means.. there are no deadlines prompting me to do X, Y and Z before the more fun things that I'd rather do. That's a benefit of quarantine sewing.

Here's what I have been making:

Those three tops will eventually be for Wrap a Smile which gives quilts to kids after cleft lip surgery. They are made from a combination of my own blocks, donated blocks, and some donated rows. Wrap a Smile is one of the programs currently on hiatus. But they'll need lots of quilts once they start back in operation.

Here is a collection of blocks I made from a tutorial at the blog, The Objects of Design. Post was on Aug. 20, 2014. The block has partial seams, but they're super easy and go together quickly. They make a small block, only 5.5 inches. I was going to try to be creative, but ended up deciding on a straight setting. They're already interesting enough so that it makes a creative quilt top as is.

To my own chagrin, I am not reading as much as I thought I would during this quarantine time. Since I'm doing so much sewing, maybe another audio book would be a good way to go.

Happy sheltering-in-place, everyone! I hope you are healthy and happy. Sending my hugs around the world.

How Are You Coping?

During this corona virus pandemic, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, most of Minnesota has shut down: schools, churches, bars and restaurants, hair and nail salons, malls, many businesses have cut hours, and people are encouraged to self-quarantine if possible. Husband and I are doing that. We are trying to understand enough of the virus to be wise and careful, but not too much to let ourselves get crazy-scared about it. We are trying to trust that preventative measures will pay off.

We are in the vulnerable population of "over age 65," plus Husband is diabetic. So we want to be careful. This morning Husband went to the grocery store during the first hour of opening business which is set aside for elders like us. At that time of day, everything has been freshly cleaned and stocked, and the only people there will be in that same age group. Hopefully it's safer than just shopping among the general population. We have been getting groceries delivered, but that actually is getting harder as items are not in stock. It's harder to guarantee we will get the items we want. Yesterday (Friday) I went online to place our delivery order, and the first available delivery time was Sunday night! We could have made that work but just chose not to. Many of our usual items were not even available, but he found them in person early this morning. (Everything except bread and toilet paper. We're good so far.)

Other than that, we are not feeling too much stress during this "lock-down" time. I am fully retired and Husband is semi-retired, so staying home all day is typical for us. The only things we have cut out are the social and group gatherings we would usually be participating in. To be honest, having some of them on hold for a while is a relief! Even retirement life gets to be too busy sometimes. Husband has been doing his usual two days a week of work remotely (from home). Spring is slowly approaching, so weather has been nice enough to get outside for walks, which helps keep us sane.

So far our two adult children are doing OK. Son's job site has closed, but he is still getting paid. Daughter's job is still up and running. I'm crossing my fingers for her; she doesn't get paid if she doesn't work.

How are you doing, dear reader? I know for some people being cooped up at home is not fun. I hope you are finding ways to keep yourself happy.

For me, life these days has been quite fun. It is relaxing to have no obligatory events, and we can stay home and enjoy ourselves. As introverts, this suits us well. I have been doing my usual: sewing and reading. Here are some of the things I have been working on lately:

I also decided to work through a block book that I have, from A-Z. These are the blocks I have made so far. I'm a little bit into the B's.

Oh.. my sisters and I are feeling lucky to have completed a fun and healthy trip to Panama last month. Just this week Panama suspended all international flights, and they now have several confirmed cases of Covid-19 there. Prayers for them and for the world!

May we all enjoy good health and learn to appreciate our quieter world for now.

Stuff I Have Been Doing

In early October I had two quilts hanging in a local show. I took pictures, but then I got a new phone and managed to lose a whole ton of pictures in the process. Boo hoo. This is one of the quilts I hung (and that you have seen before). I wish I could show you some of the other beauties that were in the show.

In mid-October I helped with a "vacation Bible school" type event at our church. It took place during two traditional school days off when parents sometimes have trouble finding places for their kids on two work days. There were several fun activities and meals/snacks.

I have been sewing as I can fit it in, as usual. Two baby quilts and an unquilted top:

Lotto blocks for Sunshine:

My cousin started a new quilting group at her church, and I attended. I think I will be a regular participant; we'll see. Here are some pictures from Show and Tell at our first meeting.

Last week I was on a retreat with friends. I got a lot of tops put together; most had been prepped but never completely sewn together. It felt good to get them done.

And I have been reading! I had to do some marathon reading this weekend, to start and finish the book that my book club will discuss this week. I finished it today. Whew!

That's all for now, folks!

Here I Am! Still Sewing!

I know I have not posted much lately, other than a few book reviews. Well, I have been busy sewing, and will show you below some of my projects.

In this first bunch you may recognize some duplicates. These are tops I made in the past (and may have shown here) but other people machine quilted and bound them (or I may have bound a few of them). It is so helpful to have a team of people who provide options to help start or finish our projects! It takes a village to get this volume of quilts made, finished, and sent around the world. I still have a small pile of quilted but not yet bound quilts. I plan to concentrate on bindings at our next gathering of quilting friends. (Then I will have more photos to share.)

Here are some that I have made and finished, or they are hoping to be done soon. The first one is for baptism at church; the others are for either Quilts Beyond Borders or Wrap a Smile:

These are my most recent GE Designs blocks for her Stroll in Paris mystery. If you are doing the same project, you can see how far behind I am! This is block #2, and tomorrow she will reveal block #6! I better get busy on these. If I fall hopelessly behind I will feel...hopeless.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and I love sewing on a Sunday afternoon, but tomorrow I will have Bonus Grandson visiting, so not much sewing will happen. Luckily I have six other days in the week to do whatever I want.