Slow Stitch Finishes

I finished hand quilting two quilts that I began several years ago.  The first is a mini quilt  that I started at a Jo Morton retreat in Nebraska in 2015.  The 1/2" hexis are fussy cut and paper pieced.  I used this project for car work when we traveled, so it took 2 years. 

 

 

The next quilt was a kit I purchased at Quilter's Corner in Sacramento.  I rarely buy kits but I just loved the border and vertical sashing fabrics in this kit.  Its been pieced for some time, just waiting its turn to be quilted.

 

 

 

I noticed when I hung it that the blocks were going different directions.  I planned it that way.  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

On a personal note:  Finished chemo and thankfully have no lingering side effects other than a nearly bald head.  I will say that wearing a wig is much quicker than drying and fixing your hair.  I like to believe there is always a silver lining to every cloud.  I've completed week 1 of 6 weeks radiation with no problems.  They tell me I may get tired by week 3, but it should be nothing compared to chemo.  I'm happy to be in the last phase of treatment and anxious to get my life back. 

Design Wall Monday

I envy people who can work on one project start to finish before moving on to something else.  I'm not one of those people so I decided to work on several projects a little bit each day.  Since early April I've been making a weekly list of items I want to work on.  This coming week I have the following on my list:

Blockheads Block #22
Continue piecing stars for A Quilt for Alice (goal:  4 per day)
Continue piecing  Lady of the Lake blocks
Continue hand quilting my Civil War quilt.

 

 

I hadn't noticed that I've been using a lot of blue lately.  I used to teach an art lesson to my students about Picasso's Blue Period and his emotional state at the time. Hmmm...

I'm halfway through my chemo and doing well thanks to my friends and family.  These two lovely ladies (Alison is left of me, and Krista is on the right) were my grade-level team members when I taught.  We were a team for almost 10 years and I love these women like sisters.  When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, they started sending these stones accompanied by an appropriate quote.  I've received one each week since early May.  I don't know how they manage it, but each week's quote is perfect for my state of mind.  I thought I'd share some of them, as they apply to life in general.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

The three of us on a food tour of North Beach, San Francisco.

Slow (Hot) Sunday Stitching

I've been getting a lot of hand stitching in lately, as there as days when I don't have much energy to do much else.  I'm so thankful that I have this hobby to keep my mind and hands occupied.  Today I will be stitching on this Fig Tree Frivol.  I'm almost done quilting it.   Just a few more blocks and 3 borders.  Its small, so it is comfortable to hold even in the heat. 

 

Last week I finished up my paper pieced hexagons.  Each hexi is 1/2 inch and most are fussy cut.  I started this back in November 2015 when I attended a Jo Morton hand sewing retreat at Lied Lodge in Nebraska with my friend Nancy.  I haven't worked on it steadily, as it became my car project.  We make several 12 hour trips to Arizona and back every year, and I occupy myself with a hand sewing project or two.  This in addition to having a 17 pound Shih Tzu on my lap!  I have it pin basted and will hand quilt it when I finish my current quilt. 

 

This past week wasn't my most productive week, but this coming week should bring me more energy and motivation.  I did read a great book this week called  Beneath a Scarlett Sky by Mark Sullivan.  It is based on the true story of a heroic young man in Milan, Italy during WWII.  Not the most uplifting of things to read when you're feeling poorly, but it definitely made me realize that things could be waaaay worse! 

 

Have a great Sunday everyone.

 

 

I'm Baaack!

Wow.  I didn't realize how long it has been since I last posted.  Six months and so much has happened.  This will be a rather long post so I'll keep the quilty goodness at the beginning and add the personal update at the end in case anyone is interested.  In early April I spent a wonderful week in Lake Tahoe at quilt camp with many wonderful ladies and my high school friend, Connie.  I worked on finishing some WIPs and came home inspired and thankful.  I'll be sharing these soon. 

I've been successfully keeping up with Moda Blockheads block of the week despite some real challenges (see personal below).  Here's my work so far:

 

 

I recently purchased Jo Morton's Jo's Little Favorites II and fell in love with most of the quilts.  I finished the triangle one last week.  It is so satisfying to work on smaller quilts that can actually be finished.  Both quilts are hand quilted.

Courthouse Steps

Half-Square Triangle Challenge
 

Finally, here is my Circa 2016.  This was a sew along with Temecula Quilt Co. last year.  It hangs in our family room.  It is the only quilt I can ever remember my husband saying he likes!

Circa 2016

Tomorrow's Slow Stitching will be some hexi flowers.

******* personal info*******

After my delightful time in Tahoe, I decided to take care of some routine health maintenance which included my mammogram.  Much to my dismay they called be back, I had a biopsy and was diagnosed with breast cancer in early May.   I had lumpectomy surgery and a lymph node biopsy in mid-May.  I feel extremely fortunate that my cancer is small and an early stage, however it didn't get me out of chemo.  I had my first of 4 treatments last week, and while it certainly isn't a walk in the park, it is manageable.

I hesitated to share this much personal information, but there are two things that I want to share with my quilting sisters.  First, if you are not regularly getting your mammos, please start.  Do it EVERY year, if possible.  Women in their 60s are most at risk.  The second thing I want to share is how much being a quilter has helped me brave my frightening new world.  Hand stitching, reading your blogs, and prepping new projects have kept me from falling into despair.  We are so blessed to have this hobby to help us through the challenging times in our lives. 
With gratitude,
Barb

This Week in the Sewing Room

Its been a very productive week for me in the sewing room.  We got home from Arizona last Friday and within a week I finished my En Provence Mystery Quilt top as well as my Garden Party quilt top.  Of course it has done nothing but rain here in California (no complaints from me, as I think we are finally out of the drought). 

I basically used Bonnie Hunter's colors for the mystery except that I used Civil War era reproduction fabrics so the quilt has a more muted look to it.  I'm happy with it, even though the pattern isn't as bold as Bonnie's.  I sure did get A LOT of practice unsewing on this one.  Many ways to screw up!

Here is a close-up so you can see the colors better.

My Garden Party quilt just needed the two final borders to be done.  The pattern came from Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps book.  I prepared the back today and will drop it off to the long arm quilter on Thursday. 

 

 

 

Here's a close up

 

Finally, I'm starting to pin-baste my Allietare quilt.  My hand quilting buddy, Nancy, and I planned the quilting, and I'm looking forward to getting started . Not bad for a week's work- Oh how I love being retired !

Slow Sunday Stitching

Although I usually do slow stitching on Sunday (in fact, most days), I have been bad about posting pictures to Kathy's Blog.  I'm going to try to make it a habit in 2017.  I'm sorry about the quality of these pics.  I've misplaced the battery charger to my good camera, so I've used my phone.

I had planned on working on my big stitch spider web quilt, but as you can see someone thought it would make a cozy nap spot.  Jack thinks its his personal responsibility to lie on every quilt I make including the unfinished ones.

I'll just work on my hand-pieced Sunburst quilt.  I'm using www.cindyblackberg.com Cindy Blackberg's stamp set, and they are coming together easily.  I've made 8 since before Christmas and my plan is to make 16 for a wall quilt. No hurry, just very relaxing. 

Have a great Sunday stitching.  Stay safe and warm!

Slow Stitching

I had to lay aside the spider web quilt because it is too heavy for summer quilting.  Since I didn't have anything basted, I looked in the UFO closet and found this old beauty.  I made the top in 1988!! and started quilting it.  For some reason, I got tired of it, put it in the closet, and forgot about it.  I have been working on it steadily for about a month, so I only have the border left to do.  This is really sloooooooooooow stitching!