The Countdown Begins

It's the last week of August and my last week at home before I fly off to exotic destinations. Leaving on a Jet Plane

 

Let the list-making begin!  Must get organized and ready for nearly an entire month away from home.

 

Daddy & Me October 2020

First Stop, Paducah, KY.  While yes, it is Quilt City USA hosting the annual American Quilt Society quilt show...resuming next year, Paducah is also the home of  my family.  

My Mother has passed, but my sister, B-I-L and Dad still live there.
Which is the BEST reason to travel there. *

Daddy lives with my sister and she is due a break. 
I will be there taking care of Dad for two weeks.

Normally, I'd pack up Miss Ellie and take her with me. 

 

Miss Ellie 1951 Featherweight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, Kentucky is not my final destination.  From there I'll be heading east to spend time with my daughter in Washington, DC and Chincoteague Island.  Then on to Lincoln, NE for a software conference.  So, Miss Ellie will stay home and Elder Sister,
my Ukulele, will take her place as my second carry-on.

While in Kentucky, I will be working my regular job and Dad-duties during the day which leaves a lot of evenings with nothing much to do (Dad retires early.)  As I lamented this dilemma to my sister, she asked around and found me a loaner sewing machine.

Meet Fran.  The distant cousin of Miss Ellie and Ma Moo

Joy's neighbor, Fran, is loaning me her early 1960's Singer Rocketeer.  Isn't she beautiful?!  Frankly I can't wait to give her a spin.  I already love her and I have not even met her yet. 

What I will be working on:  A "small house" lap quilt for Dad's next birthday in February.  The idea came to me at our Zoom birthday party for Dad's 90th birthday earlier this year.  

I have eight (8) siblings--who all have kids--those kids have kids and even some of those kids have kids!  That is a lot of people/houses to represent.  I'll write the names on each house. 
I think my Dad will love it.

Here is a great tutorial by Jenny Doan.  It should be fast, fun and looks easy.  I'm hoping to finish the entire top while I'm there.   (I'm packing up a box of supplies and fabric scraps to ship.)

Of course I'll also visit a few quilt shops....they should be open by now.  When I was there a year ago many were still closed. 

 

From Kentucky I will officially be on vacation and will be headed to the East Coast. I have not spent much time on the other coast. 

My daughter has always wanted to visit the home of the wild ponies of Assateague Island. (HERE is a lovely video.)

If you've ever read the Misty stories by Marguerite Henry you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.  We won't be there for the "pony swim" or Pony Penning Days. 

We will stay in a little cottage across the street from the Chesapeake Bay. 
The plan is site-seeing, eating east-coast fish, drinking nice wine, hand-sewing, playing the Ukulele, relaxing...repeat...what could be better?

It is not certain whether I'll visit any quilt shops on the East Coast. 
We'll just have to wait and see.

By then, I'll be all refreshed and relaxed and  ready to gear up for work again; starting with the Software Forum in Lincoln, NE.  While there I'll also spend some time with my college roomie, Cori, and her D.H.

Cori (roomie), Me and MaryJo (fellow quilter and software person)
2017

 

This was taken at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, NE.  If you get the chance, go visit.  It was so informative.
HERE is a great video.  I wish we had seen this exhibit.

 

 

Whew!  Busy month ahead, but I'm excited.  
 

Up, Up and AWAY!

*And, I'm making plans to retire there, myself.

Look What I found!

 I Love this quilt !!  I saw it on Facebook, the Scrappy Girls Club page.  It looks so fresh and clean, but whimsical.

Each of 9-patch squares is 1.5 inches....that is pretty small.

 

The creator, in her post,  said it took her 18 months.  But I like it so much.  Looks like a good leaders and enders.

Same quilt pattern--different fabric choice! 

This one looks like a completely different quilt pattern! 
It reminds me of blue dishes, comforting.

I did an internet search for "Jack's Chain" and found so many examples and tutorials.  It would not be possible to post links to ALL the examples and tutorials I found.  Here is one, Carpe Lanam.  Looks helpful.

What can I say...I just like it!  I just might have to add it to my list for 2022 (Along with the Ice Cream Quilt.)

UPDATE:  I've been thinking about "Dishes" since I posted this.  (I really like bowls.)

There IS a quilt pattern called Broken Dishes. Click HERE

Dawn of First Light Designs wrote of the Pickle Dish Quilt.  Click HERE 

I found a quilt pattern simply called Dishes.  Click HERE

The Unboxing

Haven't we all watched those videos where they take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to unbox a new sewing machine or something?
Well, now I have my own unboxing...it's not a sewing machine, though.

Now the backstory:  I follow eQuilter.com in my email.  Every few weeks they send a post that highlights a quilt panel made up into a quilt.  They are usually lap size.

eQuilter.com does a nice job with panels.  The finished product has interesting sashing or borders AND they will make the free pattern on how to make the borders, etc. available as a download, whether you buy their product or not. 
Thank you, eQuilter.com!

Not long ago I received this in my email...

It was love at first site!  

I rationalized the purchase like this.....first I need a quilt for Sabrina, my nephew's daughter.  I've never made one for her and I felt it was time....she's 14.  Second, I need a prop for my next ukulele-playing, singing gig.....

I have been holding the "Summer Concert Series" for the people in my building.
(There were 12 people at the last one!  I now have a 'following!')
The next concert is planned in a couple of weeks;  "Songs About Summer."

Cowboy songs

Hawaiian songs

 

One of my selections will be "Octopus's Garden" by Ringo Starr. Won't this panel make the perfect backdrop?  

Third, I will be staying with my dad in Kentucky in a couple of weeks so my sister and her D.H. can take a holiday.  I need something to work on while I'm there.  Something fast and easy*.  This seemed to fit the bill.  And, finally the whole thing, including backing was about $100.  If I bought fabric at my local shop for a lap quilt, it would be at least $100, probably more.

All-in-all it's a Win, Win, Win, Win!

Now, the unboxing....

Nicely packaged

Fabrics feel good

The colors are every bit as vibrant in "person" as in the email picture.

There have been some on-line purchases that were a bit of a disappointment....not this time!  I am very happy with this purchase.  Now the only trick will be to save this for my trip.....but I'm tempted to whip it up now....

* I have a whole different story about this Kentucky trip....later.

Don't Blink

Close your eyes
Have no fear
The monster's gone, he's on the run
And your grandma's here

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy*

And just like that from Baby ...

to almost-a-grown man, and I swear, I did not blink!!!

...and so handsome!....

 

I'm sure every grandmother feels this way about her babes, but he is such a fine young man!

He's Smart, He's Gentle, He's Kind, He's Funny

He's Athletic,  He's a Good Sport,  He's Multi-talented.

With Baby West 2011

With Catalina 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 A Good Big Brother

 

 

 

 

He has his fun moments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes he just humors g-ma

 

Many sides to this young man

 

 

Making his own masks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Night Lights

 

 

 

As much as I want to hang onto him ....he's running off into the sunset ... growing up and making his own life.

Oregon Coast 2018 (little brother following in his footsteps)

 

Happy 15th Birthday, Beautiful Boy.

 

 

*John Lennon's Beautiful Boy

Worth the Money

My grandmother used to say "A penny saved is a penny earned." 

We all know quilting is NOT an inexpensive sport.  With the tools, fabric, all the different gadgets, etc. Then there are all the wonderful patterns! 

Patterns is the one place I try to save.  

The process might look something like: 
First see a pattern. say, on Facebook. 
Second, I Google to see if there is a free version somewhere. 
If not, Third,  Fire up EQ8* and try to design my own.

 

That is exactly what I did with Two Of A Kind.

 

The above quilt was posted on Facebook and I just really, REALLY liked it  So, I googled the pattern thinking this might make a good leaders & enders quilt (for the record, it's not a good leaders and enders quilt...too much thinking.)  
I didn't find a free pattern so I went to Step Two: Designing it in EQ8. 

It was a good refresher exercise and I was pretty proud of myself that I was able to figure it out!  Printing the pattern and the cutting diagram; I opened my shoe box of 5 inch squares and did a little test run. 

EQ8 is a designing tool and while you can print the pattern and the cutting details, EQ8 does not print instructions on how to assemble a block.  And that is where I got stuck.....darn, darn, and double darn.

It all started out oh-so-good.....Sitting on the floor....assembling the pieces on the design board
... it was fun, like putting together a puzzle. 

Sewing the block, however, was a problem....

 

 

You can see once you sew the pieces together, the block with three seams is now smaller than then block with only two seams.

 

 

The EQ8 cutting directions did not show the sub-cut, it only showed the cross cut. But for the pattern to fit together, I figured out I needed to sub-cut some.

 

 

Well, it was a fun evening all the same.  I did get some EQ8 practice in and I touched fabric. 
Some evenings that's all you need.

Where to go from here  Sometimes buying the pattern is worth every penny.  But, I haven't decided if I like it enough to go back and figure out what I did wrong, or buy the pattern, or what.  Heaven knows I don't need another project. 

 
To be continued.....maybe.....

*EQ8:  Electric Quilt 8