Sewing Room Friday, 5/24/24

My latest project began like this. Scrappy strawberry blocks have been trending on Instagram, and then someone did a version that involved setting the blocks in an Irish chain. Weirdly, I have stacks of pink fabric collected over the years, yet I have never made a pink quilt. So it was about time to use some of that fabric.

I spent a few days choosing my favorites, along with low volume prints for the background and green for the leaves. Cutting, cutting, cutting... 

It also involved making a lot of half-square triangle units, so there was much trimming, trimming, trimming...

But then the real fun begins.

My first completed block. Eight more to go...

Yesterday I realized I hadn't accurately counted/cut the number of half square triangles I would need. So more cutting and trimming ensued. Ugh.

In the evenings, I work on my English paper piecing.

Plenty to keep me busy. :)

Really Random Thursday, 5/23/24

Things are coming to an end for Charlotte's senior year of high school. Saturday night we went to a dance recital at her high school--performances from all the different dance classes. She was part of the jazz class and they danced to Material Girl by Madonna. The whole recital was very enjoyable.

It doesn't seem that long ago that she was the cute little girl on the right.

Other than that, just some things that made me laugh.

Sewing Room Friday, 5/17/24

 I got all ten quilts back from Darby. They are all trimmed, but there is so much binding to make.

The Same but Different, Numbers 1-6:

Paint by Number.

Norah at Christmas.

Breezy Daze.

Welcome to London.

Once I got home from my quilting retreat weekend, I continued to work on the log cabin blocks for Picnic in the Park.

All 42 blocks completed and sewn together. It's been awhile since I made a quilt that was larger than my design wall!

In my efforts to continue my fabric destash, I chose my three favorite orange florals for the backing.

Before the quilting retreat, I made these three vinyl pouches. In retrospect, I wonder why I didn't make one for myself!

I have started a new EPP project. I have the Echinacea print by Anna Maria Horner in all the different colorways and I am making the large-sized Ice Cream Soda blocks by Jodi of Tales of Cloth. I think I'm really going to enjoy this project.

And yesterday I started a scrappy project, strawberry blocks set in an Irish chain. I'm in the process of cutting what seems like thousands of 2.5" squares before I get started on sewing. I don't think it will be much of a stash buster, as I'm trying to only cut a couple of squares from many different fabrics. But I'm sure looking forward to it. 

Really Random Thursday, 5/16/24

 Two weeks ago, my friends Vicki, Marilyn, Dotty and I had our annual quilting retreat at Dotty's cabin just outside of Yosemite. We had a couple of nice sunny days and beautiful sunsets.

And then on Saturday we had snow!

Crazy weather for May, but it's happened before. 

We each choose a meal to make during the weekend, and Dotty had chosen Saturday night, steaks on the BBQ. Oops. There she was, out in the snow. What dedication. :)

It was a relaxing weekend. For some reason, this year we each took plenty of time to sit and relax rather than sewing frantically all day and late into the evening. 

Marilyn finished this flannel quilt. I have the kit to make it, and now I'm inspired to get it out, sewn and ready for fall.

I spent the weekend making log cabin blocks, and completed 27 out of 42, so I was quite happy with my progress.

I was not looking forward to driving home in the snow, but Sunday was nice and sunny, so by the time we left midafternoon, most of the snow had melted.

This is always one of my favorite weekends, sewing with dear friends.

Mark appreciated this catcher's helmet at one of the games he umpired.

This is definitely what I should be telling plants in my yard. 

Mother's Day weekend was really stellar. It started out with lunch on Saturday. Mark barbecued hamburgers. It was a perfect day to eat outside. He had flowers on the table, music...

...and after lunch I opened the most amazing gift. We don't normally do any gifts, but a few months ago I had lost the diamond out of my engagement ring. It wasn't a very big stone, 1/5 of a carat, but it was a beautiful diamond and I was sentimentally attached to it, having worn it over 50 years! While I was at my quilting retreat the previous weekend, he had taken my ring in to have the diamond replaced! And upgraded to 1/3 of a carat. While still not big by most standards, it is the perfect size for me and it is absolutely beautiful. He's a keeper.

That night, we had been invited to attend the local dinner theater performance of Fiddler on the Roof with friends, Tim and Tracy. Great food, great performance, great friends, special night.

On Sunday, we went to a Grizzlies baseball game with the family, including Christa's parents. It was a warm afternoon, but we had seats in the shade and it was a really fun afternoon. 

Levi and Gabe had been chosen to do a race where they had to put on oversized uniforms and then race back to the starting line. 

They tied.

The one who made me a mother.

I sent him this because it was funny.

And also this, because it sounded like something he would have written me when he was younger. He told me he would still write it at age nearly 46.

My Mother's Day gift was perfect, a set of bookends like telephone booths in London. 

I don't have many books anymore, so I put them in front of the bins I use to hold patterns in my sewing room.

Two great weekends in a row.