May The Fourth be with you...

 

It would appear joining two UFO groups is paying off this year...
it also helps that I'm semi-retired now, so I have more FREE time.

March Finishes:   APQ, Quilts needing labels.

 River's Edge  March's Letter was"A"

You're Invited 

Surprise, surprise...it turned out pretty cute.  I won't lie, what looked like an easy, slam-dunk design turned out to be a bit challenging.  Jack and I spent a fair amount of quality time together.  I still see things I'd change if I had the "want to", but.... now it's off to the  LAQ*.

 

River's Edge: quarterly project 

While I have been working on the Memory Bears as my quarterly project....the quarterly project due this quarter was the stack of Row-by-Row kits and patterns accumulated over the years.  The goal, weed the stack and finish two. 

Remember when Row-by-Row was all the rage?  My Quilting Auntie and I would shop hop and pick up patterns and kits like we were really going to sew these up!  😂

Row-by-Row from 2017.  Picked up from Sew EZ Two** in Spokane, WA.

 

 

Adding to my studio Small-Quilt Wall(s).  I hung it above my design wall so I could see it every time I entered the room.

 

 

 

 "Adventure A-Waits"

Picked up from Mel's Sewing and Fabric in Southern Calif. in 2017.

I've gone through the weeding process with these patterns and kits a few times now and it's down to three kits to make up.... the first entry on the UFO list for 2026. 

 

Machine Review Corner:  Baby Doll

For an inexpensive machine, she was OK.  Not as smooth as a more expensive machine...but OK.  It would be a good travel machine or a good "first" machine.

 

That wraps up a busy month....so satisfying!

 

 

* LAQ = Long Arm Quilter
** Sadly this shop is permanently closed.
And that's a pity, it was a great shop. Aunt Nyla and I spent a lot of time (and money) in this shop.

Spring has Sprung

 

The first two weeks of March have been quite busy....

* My Birthday was such a pleasant day... Flowers from my son & his family....dinner out with my sister and her D.H.  Such a nice day, I don't even mind adding another candle to my birthday cake.

(Anyone remember Sheriff John and the
Birthday song?  HERE )

 

 * Paducah Quilters Club meeting.  Good turn out this month.  We are doing something called "Fold it - Snip it - Rip It - Drop It - Pass it - Repeat 7 Times"  It's a challenge.  See the "How To" video HERE.  It is an interesting concept....I'm not very good at thinking up interesting things for a challenge...stay tuned.

 

 

* Quilter's Day Out (March 15).  Do you have a plan for supporting your local quilt shop?  

Local quilt shops are becoming an endangered species....support yours.   

I will be making a visit to my current favorite shop ...  Backyard Fabrics quilt shop in Mayfield.  It's a bit of a drive, but so worth it.  Here is their FB page.

 

And the frosting on the cupcake was a whole lotta sewing going on.... 

Making Progress on You're Invited and the three memory bears.

 

For the next few days I will focus on tidying up the studio and working on the memory bears.
The weather in Western Kentucky is so pleasant right now....I just MUST get out in the yard, also!!

 

 

The goal for the remainder of March is just to keep the momentum going! 

The Tyranny of the Urgent

 

When I was in my 20's I worked at Campus Crusade for Christ* at Arrowhead Springs, their headquarters in the foothills of the Southern California mountains.  I think they have a good ministry, especially on college campuses.  But, back then, working at Headquarters, honestly, it felt like a big click.  It makes me chuckle now, we were young and oh-so serious.  

One of the click-ish things we did was read certain books...everybody read the same book.  At the time it was The Tyranny of the Urgent.  In a nutshell, as best as I can remember, it was nearly 50 years ago (wow...50 years!)...it was  a book is about things that feel Urgent  and may be stealing your time and keeping you from truly important things. Kind-of like "The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Gease" whether it's the main wheel or not.

 

As we wind down 2022 I'm feeling anxious and urgent....what must I finish before the end of the year?!   I want to finish something -- need to finish something -- end this year, 2022, on a positive note. 

And, so I did, well, almost.  Who knew anxiety would drive me back to the sewing studio.  I've left this quilt top in a good, positive place.  But it was NOT easy getting even this far...Jack and I have spent some quality time together lately....dontjaknow.  (Don't look too closely, let's just say "done is better than perfect.")

 

 

Hummmm....hastily thrown up on the design wall...this is NOT turning out the way EQ8 and I envisioned....oh, well.....it'll be perfect to the young lady who will receive it.  Of course, there will be many adjustments before the final layout is stitched together.

Reminder of the general idea of the layout.

 

Now I can fly off to California (leaving the chilly KY weather behind**) and spend time with The Babes.  

*Now called Cru  Arrowhead Springs Hotel history.  HERE

**In case you're not following Ryan Hall Y'all on YouTube....BIG arctic cold front moving down across most of the lower 48.

*** From the kitchen of "My 'ol Kentucky Duplex": French Onion Chicken Skillet HERE. This is a yummy chicken skillet. 
Served with roasted vegetables, it was a big hit with the Baby Sis and her D.H.

SNOW !

 And just like that....the weather went from 80 degrees and sleeping with the A/C on to SNOW!!

 

Nothing like a chilly 26 degrees outside to keep you INSIDE! 
Soup Weather!

But, I'm not complaining....really...

According to the Farmer's Almanac, this winter is supposed to be colder and snowier than normal.  I don't like to be cold, and I most definitely will not like my power bill when it comes, but I am embracing my first full winter in my new digs and spending time INSIDE and in the studio.

 

Messy is Beautiful

 

Not long ago I read a FB post -- Pat Sloan's FB page -- about creating a test block when beginning a new quilt project. 
I've never done that although it sounds like a good idea this time...I suppose.... because I changed the block size on the
You're Invited pattern from 10.5" blocks to 12" blocks to accommodate the pictures in this panel.

                                        Practice Block                                                       Paper Block from EQ8

I think the practice block came out rather nice.  It's almost perfect. I did lose some points.

Creating practice blocks seems like a good idea...but what do you do with a bunch of practice blocks?*

*Just Get It Done Quilts video on orphan blocks HERE

You're Invited

 Ahhhh, yes....I remember now....the joys of changing up the pattern.... Isn't that why we're quilters?

The Designer's version
(Original size 54.5" X 54.5")

I liked the original well enough.  What I really liked was the Alice in Wonderland squares and the Halloween colors.  (I'm not a fan of Halloween, but I like Halloween fabrics, go figure.)

 

I'd already decided to add another setting row to the top and bottom.

But in the process of  preparing to fussy cut the panel
I discovered the pattern said to cut the panel into 10.5 inch squares.....

OK.....

 

But by doing that the cutest part of the panel squares
would be cut off! (Why would anyone do that?!)

What to do...what to do....  I ALMOST  just followed the pattern.  But I would have forever regretted that decision. 
Why not cut the squares at 12.5 X 12.5.....  sure.....  Enter EQ8*  

In the process of enlarging the blocks, I redesigned the quilt. I wasn't really that crazy about the corner blocks anyway.

The grey squares are where the panel blocks will sit.
(New size 70.5" by 70.5")

The process of redesigning this quilt made me dig deep into the recesses of my memory to fish out how to use the features in EQ8.  Thank you, YouTube, for the help!

The original panel was designed by Riley Blake Designs using the fabric line Mad Masquerader.

I've already made 60 flying geese THE ORIGINAL SIZE!!  So, we'll see how that goes.

*Electric Quilt 8