Yearly Archives: 2020

Doing What We Can

Popping in today to share a few things with all of you. Many of us are having a tough time trying to deal with all that has happened over the past couple of weeks in our country. Much unrest, anger, sadness and feelings of helplessness seem to have settled over much of our world. There are ways to help and to remain positive though. Lots of people are trying to provide support where they can, donate to various organizations, and be really vocal about the changes that need to be made.

To this end, there is an auction starting today on Instagram. Hosted and organized by MrDomestic, many artists, quilters and people of all sorts have donated things to be auctioned off. There are a variety of items in all sorts of price ranges – from beautiful skeins of yarn, to out of print and collectible fabrics (think Tula Pink and Heather Ross) to amazing quilts and children’s clothing – something is sure to appeal to you! I know there are items on the feed that I am going to keep an eye on for sure.

Needle and Foot has donated both a $75 gift certificate to the shop as well as a bundle of fat quarters by Sharon Holland to the auction. This is a great way to contribute to a much needed cause. There are many, many items for auction so take some time to enjoy some scrolling and shopping!

You can find details about which organizations will be supported by clicking here. I like this format for fund raising as it allows people to help both by donating our hand crafted items or supplies as well as purchasing beautiful things and all of the money raised goes directly to the charitable organization. I hope you will go to visit the auction which is on @mrdauctionhouse. Also, please share this far and wide on all social media feeds – the more bidders, the better! (Try saying that a few times in a row!)

Moving on but still talking about ways to contribute in our world. This is a feel good project many of us have worked on in the past. Amy, of A Doll Like Me, is running low on hospital gowns for the dolls. She would LOVE to have us make more and send them over to her. For those of you who are not familiar, click here to read the post from last year. Amy’s dolls go to special needs children. She sends them their special doll (who looks just like the child) along with a handmade doll quilt – donated by so many of you – as well as a hospital gown, if needed. Many of these children are in and out of the hospital on a regular basis. They often bring their dolls with them and Amy likes to give the doll a gown much like what the child will wear during his/her stay. The gowns are super easy to make and you only need a fat quarter of fabric and some narrow, double fold bias tape. Truly a wonderful and easy way to contribute. If you have time (and I know you have fabric!!) would you consider making one or two (or ten?!?) and sending them to Amy in Wisconsin? If you need the mailing info for the gowns, please comment and I will email it privately. Just in case you didn’t keep the tutorial for making the gowns, you will find it here.

Finally, I want to share a sampling of the quilts that have arrived recently for Mercy Hospital.

Love this pattern. Does anyone know who designed it or how to find it?

I cannot thank all of you enough for making these amazing quilts and donating them to Mercyful Quilts.

Truly you are the best of the best!!!

These quilts will be loved and appreciated by their recipients.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

How could I close without a baby picture to make you smile. Yesterday, big sister took this picture of little sis. Doesn’t it look like the baby is giving her big sis the stink eye? That one eyebrow raise is hilarious. I love this one. Hope you do too!

Everyone – please hang in there. Our world feels upside down right now. Breathe in and out, try to find a calm place so you are able to react and help in whatever way works best for you. Let us hope all of this anger results in positive change.

Super Cute, Super Simple Finish

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You know how you set something aside for so long and then somehow your mind decides it is going to take forever to finish it and you don’t want to so you just leave it there? Yeah, me too. Last fall I pieced a cute strip quilt using a focus print from Pandalicious. I had yardage in the shop and thought it would be fun to make one and then make up some kits for others to make it.

So I made up the quilt top and got it basted. I started to free motion quilt each of the strips and all was going well. When I got to the large section of pandas in the middle, my tension got screwed up. Of course I didn’t know this and just kept going because the top side looked fine. Ugh. When I saw the back, I knew it all had to be unpicked.

Onward I went and got all the messy stitching ripped out. By then I developed some serious dislike of the project and set it aside? Why do this? It wasn’t the quilt’s fault. But I did anyway. Folded it up and put it on top of a pile of fabric.

This week I thought it was time to finish it. Of course, by now, the fabric is gone and I can’t make any kits. Sigh. Quilting the remaining sections (the pandas in the middle and both of the black and white sections on top and bottom) took no time at all. Like an afternoon of playing at the machine and it was done. So after sitting there for 9 months or so, it is done!

I attached the binding with machine stitching on front and back. It is adorable! I quilted the top and bottom sections with a meandering motif of interlocking squares. I am not sure what was going on, but there are some little tension issues on the back side. Not enough that I am going to fix it though. I suspect after being washed, it will all work out.

I did a very loose meander over the middle section going around the pandas. They are such happy little guys!

I took the photos in the early evening so the sun was creating lots of shadows. But no matter, just look at how happy this little quilt is. What should I do with this one? I will likely donate it. It will be fun for some child to snuggle under.

Why does the color look so strange in this one?

Happy to cross this off the UFO list and wish I had done it long ago. Makes me happy to get it finished up.

Anyone have anything fun planned for the weekend? Hahaha…. sorry to be so ridiculous! I feel like each day (weekend or not) is so much the same due to the quarantine. Our town is loosening up just a bit but we are still very careful. So it will be the usual. Taking walks, a little bit of gardening, shipping orders and sewing, sewing, sewing!

Want to leave you with a smile. Isn’t this just a classic fun-in-the-bathtub picture?? This girl makes me laugh all the time. She is such a joyous kiddo. Enjoy the day everyone!!

Linking to Brag About Your Beauties and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop! Go check them out to see lots of fun projects.

Beneath Missouri Stars, from a Quilting Cozy Series

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UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. I have emailed the winner, Darlene H, to let her know. Thanks everyone for entering. I hope you will encourage your library to carry Carol’s books and/or head over to Amazon and get one for yourself!

I am not sure you remember but about two years ago, I reviewed a book called Tie Died which is the first book in a large series authored by Carol Dean Jones. At that time, it was my first experience with these cozy mysteries. I had a lot of fun participating in the blog hop promoting these books for Carol and CT Pubs. Even better, because of the event, Carol and I became acquainted and now enjoy a nice friendship.

Some months ago, I found out Carol would be publishing book 11 in her series this spring. Titled Beneath Missouri Stars, I hoped to review it. I contacted C&T and they agreed to provide me with a review copy of the book.

The book is really fun. If you aren’t familiar with cozy mystery novels, click here and read my first review where I explain what cozy mysteries are all about. There is some order to the Quilting Cozy series of books but I didn’t really have any problem reading number one and then jumping to number eleven. Lots had happened to the main characters (Sarah and Sophie) in between but the author does a wonderful job of telling you just enough so the reader can fill in the blanks.

In Beneath Missouri Stars, Sarah and Sophie are trying to solve a mystery (typical for these two best friends) which revolves around the murder of a young girl. The crime occurs when a popular country western singer is in town to perform. As Sarah and Sophie work to solve the mystery there is (as always) a sub plot involving a quilt or two. I love how the author (who is also a talented quilter) weaves the quilting tales into these books. There are quilt shops, club meetings at the local quilt shop, community service projects and more. Drawing on her career in geriatric social work, the author also touches on various issues that often arise with older people. This is done with sensitivity and sometimes a bit of humor. The book is well written with several twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

When Sarah, the protagonist, decides to make a quilt emulating the night skies of Missouri, she ends up with the beautiful dark blue quilt featured on the cover of the book. Of course, behind the scenes, Carol (the author) actually designed and made the featured quilt using the traditional Missouri Star block. Looking at this quilt and the pattern for it (which is included in the book) I was quite taken with it. Two tone quilts (blue and white in this example) are a favorite of mine.

After reading the book, I emailed Carol and suggested we work on a kit for this quilt. The look of lap size (54″ x 72″ finished) quilt is dramatic, just like a starlit night sky. She agreed it would be fun so the two of us got to work. When Carol made her original version, she used squares from two layer cakes as well as a bit of extra yardage. I tried to emulate this and thought it might be nice to offer layer cakes in the kit. But it would have required two full layer cakes to have enough fabric which would have made the kit quite expensive.

Deciding against using layer cakes, we chose beautiful yardage from a PB Textiles line called Spring Blue and a very dark blue background from Terra by Norm Wyatt. It works so well together and while the quilt isn’t scrappy, the effect is much the same.

Included in the kit are three fabrics from Spring Blue, a light, medium and dark print. These work to make up the blocks and the setting triangles used to put the blocks on point. The medium blue print is also used as the binding.

Included with the fabric in the kit is a copy of the book which has been signed by the author. The Quilting Cozy books are a great deal considering you get a novel and a pattern for just a bit more than the price of many quilt patterns. The number of kits is limited so most likely they will not last long. If you want to see the details of the kit, you will find it here.

To celebrate the release of Carol’s 11th book in the series, I have a signed copy to offer as a giveaway prize!! I am excited to share this book with all of you and to send a copy to one lucky winner. Carol’s series is entertaining with fun characters and lots of quilting fun. How can you go wrong with that??

To enter to win the autographed copy of the book, please leave a comment and tell me if you have made a ‘two color’ quilt before. If so, what colors did you use? If not, what colors would you choose to make one with. I love blue and yellow, red and white and also blue and white. I think limiting the colors of a quilt creates a very dramatic look. The giveaway is open until Friday of this week. I will select a winner and notify the person by email. Make sure you are not a no-reply commenter.

Congratulations to Carol on the success of this fun series of cozy mysteries. I hope we haven’t heard the last about Sarah and Sophie!!

Getting Outside

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Today Julia and I needed something different to do so we decided to do a few errands and then go for a short hike. We are fortunate to live in an area with tons of gorgeous walking trails. Julia chose Hirschman Trail for today’s walk.

We have walked here several times before. It is an easy walk and there are some really pretty sites to see.

The highlight of this trail is a beautiful pond. It comes up quickly but I look forward to seeing it each time – once on the way in and again on the way back out. Today there were two beautiful ducks swimming. Other times I have seen large turtles swimming at the water’s edge.

Walking along the trail we spotted this bright blue painted rock with a B on it. It was a little treasure nestled in off the side of the trail. There have been lots and lots of people painting rocks for others to find since the quarantine started. We decided to keep an eye out for more and we were not disappointed.

Wonder what the significance of the letter R was?

This little gem was in the crotch of a rotted tree branch.

This was actually a chunk of wood someone painted. Cute little rainbow!

Another spot of color on the trail.

Another letter, was this “I” the start of someone’s name?

We really enjoyed finding these. It was fun to think of people tucking them in along the way. Julia and I plan to paint a few and plant them on another trail. These made us smile so we will do the same for someone else.

And now…. too make you smile! Look at these two cuties!

These sisters really look alike. Older sister is on the left and little sister is on the right. They are surely cut from the same (very round) cookie cutter!

Hope you are finding ways to change things up a little. Getting outside, doing something new, learning something different? It all helps to keep us sane during this crazy season of life.

Mercyful Quilts on Parade

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I have been looking forward to the mail delivery and the UPS guy daily. Most days they bring me a wonderful package to open. It’s like Christmas around here!! Sarah’s amazing Hands2Help event is finishing up at the end of the month so quilts are being mailed to various organizations all over the map. Mercy Hospital in Sacramento is one of the (incredibly grateful) recipients.I have opened quilts from throughout the US – Florida, Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina among others!

I thought it was time to share the bounty with you. I took pictures of some of the quilts but not all. This was not done with any rhyme or reason. I wanted to share some of these and it just isn’t feasible to photograph all of them. Not enough hours in the day, right? But I will say this – ALL of the quilts are amazing. Each one is uniquely beautiful and all of them are clearly made with love and compassion.

Let’s take a look at these beauties!

These were both made by Emily of Darling Dogwood. Both have gorgeous batiks in similar colors but the light and dark backgrounds sure make for a different vibe.

I have to say I don’t know Ann but isn’t she a talented quilter? Her choice of colors and patterns are just wonderful! I love both of the patterns she used for her quilts.

Ok – three quilts from three wonderful women. Top left came from Kim C. in Florida, top right was made by Erica in Arizona and bottom center by the wonderful Linda R. in Texas. Thank you ladies!!!

These two are so much fun. Top left is from Anny who lives about 2 hours from me and I have had the pleasure of meeting in ‘real life’. She made this with a group from the Sacramento MQG – so cool that they chose to donate to a hospital local to them! The other came from Selina who lives in Florida. Thank you so much!!

Two more lovelies – Trudie sent her quilt all the way from Texas and Kathryn sent hers over from Pennsylvania. These beauties will bring great comfort to their recipients.

This quilt came from Cyndy in Oregon – she blogs at Quilting is More Fun than Housework. (I got lazy and used a picture from her blog post!!). Anyway, the thing I love about this quilt is it is made up of orphan blocks! Her orphan blocks look like they were planned and made to go together. I was pretty surprised when I read this. It is really beautiful and she did a great job of laying these out and making them work!

As I said before, there are more and I am so very thankful for each of the quilts donated. It never ceases to amaze me how generous the quilting community is. Quilts of this caliber take so much time! Not to mention the expense of fabric and batting. And then, beyond all that, spending $20 to mail the quilt somewhere! I am grateful to know all of you and thankful you thought of Mercyful quilts when you wanted to give someone such a lovely gift.

Hands 2 Help 2020

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Oh how I love this event! Each year Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict hosts an event, Hands 2 Help, to encourage quilters to donate some of their work to various organizations. I have participated numerous times over the years. I have donated quilts to various places and have marveled at the number of quilts made and gifted each May. Last year and this year I am going to donate as well as coordinate the receiving of many beautiful quilts for Mercyful Quilts.

Over the past several weeks, the quilts have started to arrive. It is so fun to open the packages and see the color schemes, block patterns and quilting styles on each one. From simple to ornate, each one is beautiful and very much appreciated. I promise to share them with you – I still need to take pictures though.

As I thought about the event from the donor perspective this year, I knew I would donate one to Mercy Hospital – you all know how strongly I feel about their program. I will be giving them the blue and yellow star quilt I wrote about in my post two weeks ago. I also wanted to donate to our local Project Linus group. As I started to look at fabric, I decided it was silly to make a new quilt for them. I have a small stack of baby quilts in the closet that I made for the fun of it but never used or gave away. It seemed more practical to give one of those away than to make another one.

I chose to give them the Fireburst Quilt I made a while ago during a quilt along hosted by Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland. It is such a sweet quilt and should be used. Yesterday I washed and dried it since it had been in the closet for some time. It is all soft and crinkly now – ready for a child in need.

I love the colors used for this quilt – they are bright and cheerful. I remember when I started to spiral quilt this I worried it would be stiff so I decided to gradually widen the space between the spirals. It worked out well and I like how soft and puffy it is.

The fabric on the backing is Folk Fleur from the Meriwether line by Amy Gibson. It is sweet with tiny flowers floating across the fabric. (There is just a bit left in the sale section of the shop.) I used a zig zag stitch to quilt the border which added a bit of whimsy.

I am really happy to give this quilt to Project Linus. I love making them but it doesn’t make any sense to leave them unused in the closet. I know many people have stacks of their quilts throughout the house and that is what works for them. I feel like quilts are to be used. This one needs to belong to a child.

I am excited to see the numbers for this year. It seems with each year more and more quilts are donated as part of Hands 2 Help. With the quarantine in place this year, and many people unemployed, it might be a lesser number? This would be totally understandable too. Are you participating? If so, thank you for your generosity!! Thank you also to Sarah for spending so much time organizing this inspirational event each spring.

Catching Up

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Oh my goodness – time is flying by. Nothing like a pandemic forcing all of us to stay home day after day to make a person busy, right? In March when all of this started I thought I would accomplish this huge to-do list due to being stuck at home. I created a list of blog posts to catch up on, pictured myself scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms till they sparkled – it was going to be such a productive time. Ummm, what the heck? I have hardly posted here and it took me until yesterday to force myself to scrub one shower. Not the picture of productivity I had anticipated!

Ah, just proof of my human imperfections!! Also proof I really am not into house work. Haha. OK – moving on to sewing. There hasn’t been a lot going on. I did get the April and May blocks done for the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge. Want to see them?

The block for April was made with purple and I was able to continue my polka dot theme. Have to say, I have no idea how I will put these blocks together. I suppose I need to think of a way to sash them with some sense of continuity.

Love the green block which was May’s color. It is a great pattern and would be cute as a quilt on its own.

I also made this cute little pink Dresden. Now I have three of them. Still not a concrete plan as to how I will use them but I like making them and they use up lots of tiny scraps so that is a win in my book!

A few days ago, I posted on Instagram that I was totally inspired by Kirsty of Bonjour Quilts to start a new project. She sent out a newsletter and as she always does, showed some quilts that had been made by others, using one of her patterns. She has a tutorial called Meadow and when I saw that quilt, I got all excited to make one. I clicked over to this post which was from a long time ago (maybe 2016?) . Deciding I really NEED to make this, even though there are three quilt tops on the guest bed waiting to be quilted, I started to pull scraps.

I spent a pleasant evening sorting through white, off-white and green scraps. I ironed a stack of them and began cutting squares in three different sizes. This is a great pattern to use lots of scraps from my bins.

Last night I started making nine patch blocks – only made a few but it is a start. These are the biggest size, using 6 1/2″ squares. They gradually become smaller. Fun, fun, fun. I love starting a new project!

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of my very imaginative grand daughter. She was pretending to be a bird in her nest, reading books. Thankful this bird is safely wearing her helmet while sitting wayyyyy up high in her imaginary tree. 🙂

In Honor of Paula

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Today is the kick off of a blog hop honoring Paula B. Paula was a kind and generous quilter who blogged at Paula B Quilts for a number of years. She loved thrifting (we certainly had that in common), studying antique quilts and making quilts for charity. One of her favorite organizations was Project Linus. Our quilting community was saddened to hear of Paula’s death on February 8, 2020 after a short and unexpected illness.

Some weeks later, I received an email from Kate of Smiles From Kate and Janice of Color Creating and Quilting, asking if I would like to be involved in a blog hop as a celebration of Paula’s life. Kate and Janice thought it would be nice to have quilters make a quilt to donate to the organization of their choice. The hop is being held this week as Paula would have celebrated her birthday today, on May 6th. I can’t think of a better way to honor the life of this very generous quilter.

Ok – let’s talk about the quilt I made. Some time back, I posted about thrifting some pretty blue and yellow fabric. I knew I wanted to make a quilt with large pieces so I wouldn’t have to chop of the fabric. To this end, I chose to make a large star quilt. The tutorial is available here on In Color Order. I love this pattern and it can be made in an afternoon. It looks great with bold, large scale prints. This is the second time I made one. Years back, I made a smaller one which hangs in the shop downstairs.

Quilting this up was enjoyable. I did straight lines within the star, echoing the shape of each point. I did a large, loose stipple over the background. My goal was a loose pattern to keep the quilt nice and soft after washing it. The bright yellow fabric used to bind it sets it off perfectly.

Love the tiny yellow frame made by the binding.

Finding a backing fabric was easy. I had a piece of sage green gingham in my yardage stash that worked nicely with this quilt top.

Loose, wavy quilting over the background of the quilt.

This quilt is destined for Mercy Hospital in Sacramento. I am still organizing Mercyful Quilts for them and I think this will be well loved by the family who chooses it. If you are not familiar with Mercyful Quilts, please read about it by clicking here and here. It is a wonderful opportunity to provide comfort for a family as they say good bye to a loved one. I have recently received a number of quilts donated on behalf of the 2020 Hands2Help event. I will share some of those in a later post.

Let’s get back to the hop! It will be happening through the end of the week.Below you will find the schedule of the bloggers who are participating in this hop. I plan to visit them and see what each came up with and where they are donating to. I love finding out about organizations supported by other quilters. There are many and it is great to know who needs what!

Also a number of wonderful prizes have been donated. Each time you visit one of the blogs below, be sure to leave a comment. Each comment left on any of these posts is an entry into the prize drawing!! The giveaway is open until May 15th. Prizes will be awarded after that date. Enjoy and good luck! I know Paula would be just thrilled to know of all of these quilts being made and gifted in her honor! To see the prizes donated for this event, scroll to the bottom of this post!

Thank you for stopping by today. Enjoy the hop in Paula’s memory – I know I plan to!

Wednesday, May 6

Karen @ KaHolly

Kate @ Smiles From Kate

Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of my Quilting Life

Bernie @ Needle and Foot – You are here!

Linda @ My Sew-Called Quilts

Cathy @ Crazy By Design

Sue @ From the Magpie’s Nest

Thursday, May 7

Kate @ Smiles From Kate

Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

Rose @ Something Rose Made

Nann @ With Strings Attached

Mari @ The Academic Quilter

Louise @ My Quilt Odyssey

Susan @ Desert Sky Quilts

Friday, May 8

Janice @ Color, Creating and Quilting

Kate @ Smiles From Kate

Joy @ The Joyful Quilter

Susan @ Quilt Fabrication

Edi @ Edi’s Crafting Life

Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Prizes!!

Sew Fresh Quilts, $50 gift certificate for her pattern shop.

Quilting Jetgirl, 2 PDF patterns of choice.

Needle and Foot, $25 certificate for her shop.

Figo Fabrics, A fat quarter bundle

A set of quilty gift cards from Initial Thought by DMF Note cards set 1

Sugar Free Quilts, A pattern of choice

A $30 gift certificate for Doris, Cactus Queen Quilt Co

Canuck Quilter Designs – A PDF pattern of choice

$25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop, donated by Janice Holton

The Enlightened Spaniel (Book 1 & 2) by Gary Heads

Pike’s Peak, My Version

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A few weeks ago I started sewing HST’s with a stack of charm squares that have been on the shelf for several years and lots of solid scraps. When I started this, I had absolutely no plan for the. It was just something to do in the sewing room. I limited the solids to shades of gray and blue.

Time passed (as it does) and I decided it was time to put them together. I looked through my computer files at patterns I have bought and never used. A copy of Pike’s Peak by Meadow Mist Designs caught my eye.

I bought this pattern long ago – you know back in the day when we were free to come and go as we pleased. We could gather in groups, hold quilt guild meetings and quilt shows. No one was wearing goofy looking masks and dousing their hands with gallons of hand sanitizer every time they were in public. Ah, those were the days. But back to the pattern…. I bought this and never made it. The pattern has a baby quilt size as well as a throw size.

However, the HST’s I had already made were smaller than those required by the pattern. To keep things in proportion, I sized the background pieces down. For the background, I chose a textured solid I had in the shop. (Sadly, it is now gone and I can’t get this line any longer.) I like the texture it adds though.

I love the various shades of gray and blue. From a cornflower blue to dark navy and from the palest silvery gray to dark charcoal – there is a nice range here.

I am unsure exactly how I will use this. It finishes at 42″ square which is small for a lap quilt. It doesn’t feel like a baby quilt to me so I don’t think I want to donate it. I might quilt it and hang it in my sewing room. The walls in that room are pale gray and this would look pretty hanging in there. Decisions, decisions.

Next is basting and quilting this up. Not sure when that will happen though. I am working on a quilt for a blog hop that happens next week so I want to finish that up.

I have been remiss in posting and reading blogs over the past couple of weeks. During the quarantine there are lots of people sewing (and especially making masks) which has created a spike in orders for my shop. Thus lots of time has been spent packing and shipping orders, which is great. I am happy to help people choose the fabric they need for their projects. Lately I have met (online of course) some really kind new customers and I have really enjoyed this.

I hope everyone is coping as well as possible with the ramifications of this quarantine. It affects everyone in different ways, some much more than others. Hang in there, stay safe and try to support the people who need it.

It Has Been a While

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Hi everyone – somehow about two weeks have passed since I have posted. I am unsure if it is because I don’t have much to tell you or I have been busy or what? One would think with the shelter in place rules, I would have tons of time to write blog posts but it hasn’t happened.

Actually, lots has been going on – a few days ago we drove to Julia’s university to clean out her dorm room. They decided for sure the students will not return to campus until fall session opens. This was sad and is the case across the country. When we were cleaning out the dorm room, Julia was melancholy. She certainly didn’t get the dorm life experience she was hoping for with all of these changes.

Like all of you, we have been keeping busy with projects and cooking – so much baking!! Julia has made cookies, bagels and dinner rolls. Currently she is learning about sour dough starter. She started one batch but it didn’t work so she tossed it and has started again.I made pumpkin bread the other day with some pumpkin from the freezer (actually from out garden last summer). We are trying to cook all sorts of meals based on what is in the freezer – mainly because food tends to be shoved to the back of the freezer and forgotten. Now is the time to take stock of what is there and use it up.

As far as sewing goes, it has been hit and miss. At the time of my last post, I was really into it and then I sort of lost my motivation. But when the governor of California asked residents to begin wearing masks in public, I decided to make masks for the family. I have looked at a couple of patterns and mashed them up to get a result I am happy with. It is a work in progress for sure.

Certainly not the most fun sewing project, but a necessary one.

I mailed a few to my son and his wife in New York. Those two are the members of the family I worry about most. They have been very careful and stay in their apartment most of the time. They have a dog so do need to be outdoors to walk her. It is so awful in New York and they need to be extra diligent.

I spent a couple of evenings cutting lots of scraps into squares for future use. This was actually somewhat satisfying. At least I was able to close my blue bin after doing this. Now of course, I have a new bin with these squares and more on the way. Sigh. It is never ending.

Another day or two was spent making half square triangles with a pack of charm squares I got from who-knows-where? I thought they would be cute used in some fashion. Can you tell I am just mindlessly, aimlessly sewing? So HST’s are made and trimmed and in a bag. Someday they will be used. Making the HST’s is the worst chore – it will be more fun to stitch them up.

Another fun hour in the sewing room was spent hunting through scraps to find polka dot fabric. I am trying to stick with dotty prints for the 2020 Color Challenge. This month is purple but I have not yet started the block.

I am still enjoying lots of texts, photos and FaceTime with my two grand babies in Vermont. Not as good as real life visiting but this is all we have for now. Above is a picture of my grand daughter, AKA Princess Mirabelle, enjoying a pretend birthday party with her stuffed animals. She makes me smile every day.

This is such a random post but it well represents how things have been. These are strange times and it will be something to look back on 2020 and the Corona Virus pandemic. Hope we are are on the other side of this soon! Please do be careful, stay healthy and reach out to friends, family and neighbors.