The Autumn quilt is finished (except I for the hanging sleeve). Actually, I’m not sure if I’ll put the sleeve on, so maybe it is finished. It’s wonderful to have a finish as it has been awhile.
I wanted to share my daughter’s kitchen with you so you can see how much room she has after her remodel last summer. Isn’t all that space wonderful when one has guests? And it is so inviting, all the guests hang out here.
I hope each of you had a fulfilling Thanksgiving, a wonderful Black Friday and will have a most needed Sabbath this weekend.
Gray skies and our errands started here. This is a marvelous store in Puyallup, WA. They have everything to make your dreams come true and I have to be very, VERY careful when I step inside.
Somehow (probably from a few escapes it made over the years, my bobbin holder was out of round and I had to acquire a new one at the cost of $75.00. These things are not inexpensive!
From there we found our way to the post office and the library. Then back home to a very late lunch. DH wanted something raw. So I found these Brussels sprouts and red pepper in the refrigerator, thinly sliced both and put a bit of vinegar over them for a colorful salad. And now to remove a few threads from yesterday’s mishap.
This autumn flimsy is finished and will go on a hanger until I have time to quilt it. See how far ahead I am. I know that I can finish this before next October. The corners were a bit of a challenge because I really wanted to use another fabric, but I didn’t have enough of it. Well, I guess that’s why so many are “scrap” quilts. And yes, for the most part I did use scraps. I’m happy with the way it turned out. Apples, corn, leaves, pumpkins = all speak “end of the harvest.
Keri, who is in the plaid on the left is having a birthday, so her friends invited us to celebrate with them at Panera’s. We really had a great time, and I can’t wait until we can get together again. Keri, please invite them over in April/May when the lambs show up or you can just send them to this site.
Speaking of lambs, today we witnessed a little play between these two. I wonder if their lambs will be black or white. Fortunately, he is very sweet and will stand between you and his girl friend, but that is the limit of his aggressiveness. So I mark my calendar for 5 months from now.
We had a busy day, but mostly running around to the gym, to the chiropractor, and two stores. No we did not purchase anything, and yes, my back is better. But that didn’t leave as much time as I would have liked for sewing. I wanted to finish this flimsy, but that will wait. I have one more row and then borders. I’m thinking I want to put something in the border corners, but that hasn’t come to me yet.
Last night I was looking through my 2014 goals for knitting, sewing, etc. I did not make one quilt on that list. However, in 2013, I achieved 10 out of the 12. I think much of my quilt problem is like the one above. I catch an idea from someone/somewhere and it soon morphs into something else. This one started with a Christmas quilt I saw, but didn’t need a Christmas quilt, so I changed the colors to autumn and then I was off and running with an entirely different quilt. So the lack of getting something on that 2014 list done, isn’t because I didn’t make quilts. I didn’t make those quilts, but I made many quilts. Yes, I’d still like to make them and I have another entire list to add to it. Perhaps next year, I can put one a month on my list the first of each month and actually achieve some of them. Too many busy days.
The same thing happened with the machine embroidery. I have plenty on my list, but nothing was done this year. It is time to clear everything off this desk except for the notebook with all the lists. Then maybe I can check off some of the items. I would love to check off more than I add. But I know that the neighbor lady and I are planning two gardens this year to feed both families. I’m not sure if that will give us more or fewer busy days.
Organization is usually very easy for me as I like to organize and can think better when things are organized. One issue comes when other people in my life get involved. If I have to leave something unfinished or someone moves things, does not put them away, etc. it is easy for me to just give up on organizing.
Another issue comes when I have overloaded myself which is common. Right now the sewing table and the ironing board as well as other surfaces are covered as I try to decide which pieces I want to cut out for this quilt. When the cutting is finished, I can put much of this fabric back and clear surfaces.
That being said, the following blog, by Sherri, on time organization came to my attention today. http://www.aquiltinglife.com/2016/11/time-management-for-quilters.html It is very much worth taking a moment to read. If I actually did #2 and limited myself to high priority each week, I would feel less scattered.
Then there is #3, meal planning for 2 weeks. I fallen so far down on that. Today, I went to the pantry,
which is well stocked this time of year and couldn’t find a thing I wanted to fix for lunch which is shameful in view of how full it is. We ended up having roasted potatoes, roasted squash and kale. It was taking time to think that was throwing me – (and some don’t even have that privilege). Had I taken the time to create a menu, it would have been easier.
#6 Being realistic in how long something will take me, is something with which I will always struggle, especially when I don’t count interruptions into the plan.
#8 is absolutely true. If I do that, then I don’t waste those little moments. This week my knitting has been sitting out, so that if I have 5 minutes, it is easy to pick up and knit a row.
Where do the days go? I thought with an extra hour, maybe I could get something extra done. But, NO, that didn’t happen
I did finish one bear paw. These are going to take so much longer than I expected because it seems sewing a straight line on a 1.5″ piece is much more difficult than sewing a straight line on a 3″ piece. And there are 40 pieces in a block. So now that one paw block is done, I can calculate how many I will need and cut them out. Then they will go on the back burner and I will do a block now and then as the mood strikes me. It will not be a ufo, but rather a work in progress.
These are blossoms on my small Meyer lemon tree and LOOK!
There are 5 tiny little lemons forming – here is one. I brought it into the house 2 weeks ago as someone online mentioned how fragrant they are inside.
Today we got so much done. The fellow that sometimes works here had the day off, so he came over to help with some of the little things that needed to get done. Then we went fence supply shopping because what else does one do when a windfall appears in the mail. We need the fencing and a he borrowed a truck. We now have 3 rolls of 330′ goat/sheep fencing and the metal posts to put it up. We still need the wood posts that go with the gates. It is just a matter of when I can get man power to do the work. I think (and hope) they may get started the first of December and I will be out there, cheering them on with coffee, doughnuts or whatever they need to keep going. The sheep and I will be so happy to get the main part of the fencing done. I’ll think about cross fencing later.
As long as we had the truck, we picked up all the potted trees that the renters didn’t want cluttering the place. They are now parked beside the barn. I’m sure when spring comes, we will find many places to put them. Some of them may even go into the ground at the rental. There are still rose bushes to pick up, but we filled the truck out to the end of the tailgate with what were in the front yard. The prior people liked to propagate plants which is why there are so many.
I took the time to quilt this today as well. The binding is on hold.
Better days are coming – they have to be, don’t they? I had a fellow over with a truck today which was a big help as he moved 30 bales of hay from the big barn to the little one. That would have been many trips with a wheelbarrow that only holds one bale. Now the hay is near where we use it. I’m hoping the fence will be up by the end of the year which will solve much of this issue.
And look at all the offspring. This is how bananas reproduce. After a tree has bananas, it dies and the little ones grow up to produce more bananas.
I spent several hours working on Autumn Wall Hanging which will be about 48″ square so could also be a wheel chair quilt. I had the 4 pieced blocks done last week, but wasn’t sure where I was going from there
This block is for an autumn wall quilt that I’m wanting t make . It is a corner block from “Merry, Merry Christmas Quilt” by Debby Kratovil in her Quilt Block-a-Day Calendar 2006. I liked this block, but didn’t want it for Christmas so changed the colors to autumn colors and now need to decide if I want to stop here or add motifs to it. These 4 blocks are done, and I’m thinking perhaps pumpkins, turkeys, and another motif will become part of this. One thought is to put pumpkins in the corners and these between the pumpkins. My quilts often morph as I build them. No I’m not late, just early for next autumn. At least the plan is to get the flimsy done this next week and get the quilting done by then.