Bittersweet Boulevard

 This morning I finished fully finishing November’s “Bittersweet Boulevard” by designer Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives on Etsy. While I really do enjoy stitching this series, it takes me a long time to stitch the two parts. I had started stitching it in the middle of October, and it took me probably three weeks to stitch!!! As soon as I received the December chart, I began stitching it, and at least I have the street sign section stitched. The house and sign for December are done in shades of pink, and it will be very pretty once it is done. I’m also trying to get a few Christmas cross stitch ornaments done as well.

At yesterday’s Crosstown Quilters Guild meeting, I turned in four Christmas stockings. Guild members make stockings which are donated to DCF (Department of Children and Families.) Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of them. I also finished the top of a quilt from designer Ricky Tims. The pattern is “Gaelic Blessings” a double Irish chain with variations with a Celtic cross in the center. [Update: I put “Gaelic Blessing” into the ‘Search This Blog’ feature, and it showed that in a March 4, 2017 post I showed a photo of all the fabric all cut and carefully labeled to work on at a guild retreat. Seven years . . . that’s not too bad. ;-) ].

I have been on a kick to complete projects. Imagine my surprise to find all the completed blocks just waiting patiently in its project box. The pattern was from 2016, and I believe I started it as soon as it came out. I remember having been super excited to start it, but somewhere along the line I drifted away from working on it. I am happy to say that the top is now done, and I have an idea which I think will be pretty cool for the back. I just need to spend some quality time at my sewing machine working on that. :-)

At yesterday’s meeting, I picked up a baby quilt from one of our members, Maureen Anderson, who longarmed it for me. I love how it turned out, and I will post a photo as soon as I have finished the binding.

As you can see, I have been trying to stay very busy since last week’s election. It’s been difficult to even fake a positive outlook. For my sanity, I have stopped watching news programs on CNN & MSNBC which I had previously watched far too much. I thought I might continue watching “The Last Word” with Lawrence O’Donnell, but last night I decided to give that up as well.  I will continue to read Heather Cox Richardson’s , “Letters from an American” each day. There is a link to her column under “Blogs That I Enjoy” in the column on the right side of my blog. (Note: If you get an email notification when I write a new post, you are probably not seeing my whole page. Click on my blog title, and that will take you to my full page.)

I will not comment on the election; we have all seen and read enough about that from both sides, but I will say to those who reelected our forty-fifth President . . . Be careful what you wished for . . . 

Fall Tier by Erin Elizabeth Designs

 

I did a presentation at the Crosstown Quilters Guild on Tuesday. I told my fellow quilters that my goal was clear . . . I wanted to get a few of my fellow members to fall down the cross stitch and/or wool applique rabbit hole right along with me. ;-) Since I am still in my big, awkward boot, gathering pieces to bring with me was a challenge, but I believe I had more than enough samples. 

I did not have “Fall Tier” finished to bring, but I completed it yesterday. It is so cute!!!  I can say that as I was not the designer, just someone who enjoys stitching designs by Erin Elizabeth. Erin Wasilieff is a Canadian designer whose patterns/charts are whimsical and fun. I particularly enjoy her “tier” designs and  have two others already in my stash. Click on the photo to get a larger image and also do click on the link to visit her shop. Whether you cross stitch or not, her wonderful designs will put a smile on your face. 

This wood display piece is from Paisleys and Polka Dots. They offer DIY wood craft kits for home decorating and seasonal displays. As I have mentioned previously, the wood pieces are cut and you must paint and glue them together. There are two magnets glued to the main section, and I will place washers on the back of the cross stitch piece. (At present, it is simply leaning against the display as I didn’t want to risk hobbling down cellar in my big boot tonight to hot glue on the washers :-). That can wait until tomorrow. 

Last month I posted a beach cottage scene on this tiered display. The fun part is finding items to put on the sides of the piece. These two small wood pieces are also from Paisleys and Polka Dots. 

Over the weekend Emma and I stayed at ‘her home away from home,’ so Bailey’s folks could go to their son’s wedding. I brought cross stitching and a few books and the three of us had a lovely time.

One funny note, I gave such an enthusiastic presentation on Tuesday that I have already ordered a piece of wool for a new wool applique piece and a pattern for a big wool project. So much for stitching from stash; I’m absolutely incorrigible!!!  Gee, I wonder if I inspired anyone at the meeting? Time will tell. ;-)

Happy Fall Y’all!

This little scarecrow was a previous finish, but I hadn’t been happy with how I had originally finished it. I took it apart, added a washer to the back, and added it to this mug display. (There’s a magnet on the wooden piece. ) You may remember seeing some of my other pieces displayed on the mug. 

The display piece came from Paisleys and Polka Dots, and these three designs are all from Stitching with the Housewives on Etsy. Eventually I hope to be able to stitch a small piece for each month.

I’m still rolling along, but the doctor thinks I may be able to ditch my big, grey boot in a month. Fingers crossed . . . Anyway, I wasn’t able to attend the Herring Run Quilt Guild show over the weekend, but imagine my surprise to learn that my wool applique Americana tablerunner had received a Viewers Choice second place ribbon. Please click the guild link to see all the winners from this fabulous show.

This has been a good week. Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Crosstown Quilters Guild. This guild meets twice a month, and these meetings are always fun. Today I went to lunch with friends and as always that was fun, too! Tomorrow is going to be another rainy day, but that’s okay as I have a few projects to work on including fully finishing two cross stitch pieces and stitching on a wool applique piece. I’m doing a small presentation on cross stitch and wool applique at the next Crosstown Guild meeting, and I’m hoping to get some others to fall down those rabbit holes along with me :-). So, I’d really like to get this latest piece done. 

Keep stitching, quilting, and creating!

Wool Applique Americana Tablerunner Finish

Place a gold star on my forehead; my wool applique “Americana” table runner is done!!! (I had purchased the kit from Shabby Fabrics.) There are 260+ pieces, and I love how it turned out. (You may click on the photo to see a larger image.) I also appreciate the fact that I was disciplined about stitching it. I stitched a minimum of thirty minutes each day from August until Monday afternoon when I finished the edges. Whew! After taking this photo, I rolled it up and tucked it away as friends were coming for dinner on Wednesday evening, and I wanted to put out a Christmas centerpiece. 

I had purchased this little boy and girl in the sled for my mom at a craft show many, many years ago. The vintage angel candlesticks originally belonged to my aunts. 

 My godchild and her family came on Sunday afternoon and lugged up from the cellar my boxes of Christmas decorations and trees. I then spent Monday and Tuesday decking my halls, no small task as I love to decorate ;-). I have a large tree with ornaments and a small tree with my cross stitch pieces. I am beyond happy that my decorating is done, and that I may now enjoy it for the coming month.

It was 55 degrees today, so I took advantage of the warm weather to get my outside decorating mostly done. I’ll finish it after all the leaves are taken care of. My mighty oak tree is slow to relinquish its leaves. (I’ve already had the leaves raked once, and the men who do it will come again early next week. I have a large backyard, and raking leaves is one job that I have gladly given up.)

On Tuesday, I attended  a Crosstown Quilters Guild meeting. Our guest speaker was Christine Myers of  the Quilt Corner Studio in Sandwich, and her talk was on “The Trials and Joys of Owning a Quilt Shop.”  She was an absolute delight. 

On Wednesday, I met six friends (all former Weymouth teachers) for lunch at Mia Ragazza in Abington and then came home to bustle about finishing a few things before my quilting buddies arrived for dinner. ‘Quilting’ buddies is a bit of a misnomer. Though quite a few years ago, we actually did bring machines and sew, now we might bring a binding to stitch on or some knitting or cross stitch but mostly it is conversation, food, and show and tells. Here’s Maribeth with her recently completed chandelier quilt.

So, lunch with one group of friends and dinner with another . . . yes, indeed, life is good!!!

Spring Is Here!!!

 Don’t these photos just suggest spring to you? This morning I attended a meeting of the Herring Run Quilt Guild in Norwell, and when I returned to my car, I spend a few minutes photographing these pretty blossoms. 

At the last meeting of the Crosstown Quilters in Weymouth, I picked up two pieces of fabric from the back table. (The back table is a wonderful place; you never know what you may find there: fabric, books, magazines, notions, etc.) I like it because I know that whatever I leave there will probably go home with a fellow quilter. 

Now, I do have one pretty hard and fast rule about taking things from the back table. Anything taken must  be used within the two week period between meetings. . . if not, I must bring it back to the next meeting. 

The exception to the rule would be a particular notion or pieces of trim which I am confident that I will eventually use when finishing a cross stitch piece.

Anyway, here’s a quilt for a child that I made from the fabric that I picked up from the back table last week. 

Here’s a close up of this fun fabric.

The backing is a green print also from the table. I added batting and a red binding from my stash, and this quilt went together quickly. It will be donated to DCF (the Department of Children and Families.)

Now for Emma fans . . . here she is after a trip to the groomer on Wednesday.

And happily, the rain has stopped after a period of cool, damp, dreary, drizzly weather.

Life is good. Have a lovely week ahead.

Sunday Sampler 3/22/20

Good Sunday Morning to you all!!! We have made it through another week of self isolation, social distancing,  staying in our homes, etc... How are you doing?

Let me start by providing a link to a live camera feed from the National Mall Tidal Basin; click HERE to see the cheery blossoms. You will see people, although not nearly as many as in ordinary times, strolling along. They change the viewing angle from around the basin every five minutes. Seeing the cherry blossoms in our nation's Capitol is something that I have always wanted to do. I think I will start a list of things I am committing to do and places to visit . . .  post-coronavirus.

Something lovely to look at . . .

Pat S, a member of our Crosstown Quilters Guild, sent me a photo of her beautiful stitch pillow. She had admired mine at our recent quilt retreat and decide to make one as well. You will find a link to an excellent video tutorial in a previous post, HERE.

I received notification this morning that my internet weekly usage was up 48%. No kidding! ! ! What would we do without it during these stressful days? Emailing,  texting with friends, having a family meeting on Zoom, and reading blogs . . . Let me talk about a few things you might enjoy on Youtube. Alex Anderson @ The Quilt Show is doing a live mini quilt lesson every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1:00 EST on their site and their facebook page. Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimbel, and Steven Colbert are doing mini monologues each night before showing reruns of their programs.  Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel are using skype to interview guests. It's nice to see how folks like Lin Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Garner, and others are coping. By the way, wouldn't you want to have Jennifer Garner for a friend or neighbor?  She's lovely.

While writing this post, I am viewing a delightful St. Patrick's Day posting of "Dinner with the Gaffigans." If you don't know Jim Gaffigan, he is a very funny stand up comedian, and each night he and his family of seven sit down around their dining room table to eat and talk:-). All ages will enjoy spending time with this family. [Note: You may watch any of these programs at anytime on Youtube.]

During the past week, I have watched two John Wayne movies, The Quiet Man  and last night Hondo. I find it oddly comforting watching these old movies, and yes, I have been spending time with The Virginian and the Cartwrights on the Ponderosa, too :-)

I finished the second block of the Sue Spargo wool applique mini BOM which was fun to do except for the palestrina knots in one section. Grrrr . ... I have Sue's Creative Stitching book, but I still wasn't able to figure them out. Finally, on Youtube I found two tutorials which helped, but those stitches are still not good. It's only a small section, so perhaps no one will notice.

Confession: I ordered another wool applique kit this week. I couldn't stop myself. It is spring themed with bunnies, chicks, flowers, and happy things, etc. Seriously, it would have taken a stronger woman than I am to resist. Besides, right now we all need to work on things that we enjoy.

As are folks across the country, I am making fabric masks. There are many tutorials online. It is appalling that our dedicated medical people who are risking their lives for all of us do not have adequate supplies of personal protection equipment. Don't even get me started on that.

Anyway, this is getting long, so may I wish you all peace and good health. Stay creative. Stay well and may God bless us all. The world is a very small place, and we are all in this together.

Crocuses, Concerns, and Coronavirus

First, let's have a few happy photos of crocuses . . .  harbingers of spring. H'mmm . . . Relax . . .

 

And I  saw my first two robins yesterday.   H'mmm . . . Relax . . .

Wow! Isn't this violet grouping pretty! It may end up on some of the greeting/get well cards that I make. [Photo note: these were all taken with my Nikon 100 - 300 lens.]  H'mmm . . . Relax . . .

On Tuesday, the Crosstown Quilters Guild met, and I turned in this fleece, cuddly throw along with six comfort pillows.

As guild president, I broached the topic of possibly cancelling upcoming meetings due to the Coronavirus crisis as this was the action taken by another guild in Watertown to which I belong. Many members felt individuals should make the decision whether or not to come to our meetings.  (Note: only forty members were in attendance; usually, we have about sixty-five.) In any event, it is now Friday and things have changed rapidly. The executive board today made the decision to cancel at least our next two meetings. Safety is our main concern.

Since this blog acts as my journal, may I just mention the following: the Boston Marathon has been postponed until the fall, the NBA has suspended games as have major league baseball, hockey, the national football league, etc. The Great White Way has been shut down with no plays or performances on Broadway. Concerts have been cancelled. Since Governor Baker (MA) does not want groups of over 250 to gather, this affects many religious groups including the cancellation of daily and Sunday Masses for Catholics. Schools have been closed and many college classes will only  be online. St. Patrick's Day parades have been cancelled as have concerts and film festivals. Travel is being restricted and Disney World, Disneyland, and Universal Studios have been closed. Museums are closed. Supermarkets have rows of empty shelves, and all this is just the beginning. Who could have imagined this a month ago???

It's very scary especially since I tick a number of the boxes that put me at a heightened risk. I plan to crank up the drawbridge of my castle and just stay inside and work on my sewing projects and crafts.  I will still take Emma for our daily walks and will look forward to the gardening season. I am also going to try and post more frequently to offer my readers a smile or two. Lord knows we all need that! We are all in this together, and together, we will get through it.

One last thing, I again encourage you to read Heather Cox Richardson's daily newsletter. She is a professor of history at Boston College, and she offers a clear-eyed view and historical perspective regarding all that is currently going on in our country. It is well worth your time.  You may sign up for her newsletter HERE. 

Oh, one really last thing, in my previous post I wrote that if you follow my blog by email, you may scroll down to the bottom, and I should have written that you could click on "Web Version" to get the full page. :-)

Oh, one more really, really last thing . . . for some reason a few of the photos in my last post were not showing up; I have fixed that issue.


Be safe.

A Very Busy Week

How are your holiday preparations coming along? I have a present that I haven't even begun working on, but I hope to spend a good part of the day working on that piece. It's been a hectic, lovely week. Since this blog acts as my journal, let me share what I have been up to.

Last Sunday (12/8), my cousin Linda and her boys came to deliver a wreath which I had purchased from her younger son's cub scout pack. I don't know who was more excited to see them, Emma or me. Emma spend most of their visit on the cub scout's lap or snuggled beside him in the chair. They are both all boys, and it's always fun to see them. It wasn't a long visit as the ten year old had a sports activity in the afternoon. He is quite a good lacrosse player, but I believe that afternoon he was going to basketball. They have promised to come back to visit some Sunday morning soon, so we can have breakfast at the diner around the corner. :-)

As you know, that night I attended the Cher concert.

After a few days of rain, I finally had a chance to do some outside decorating including gussying up the wreath. (Wow, that's a good old fashion expression that you don't hear all that often these days! :-)
This very old sled belonged to my dad's family.

Tuesday started with a holiday party at the Crosstown Quilters Guild. There were more than seventy small teddy bear blocks turned in which were divided among five lucky winners. Each block had a white on white background. The green bears had red hearts, and the red bears had green hearts. With sashing and perhaps a border added,  each winner should be able to make a small lap quilt. 

It was a lovely holiday party with good friends, good food, and laughter. We, Crosstown Ladies, know how to have a good time! That night I also attended a neighbor's cookie/Yankee swap party. Being diabetic, I didn't take part in the cookie swap because I have very, very little willpower, and it's best not to have any tempting sweets in my house. The Yankee swap part was, however, lots of fun.

Here's Miss Emma after a recent bit of snow. The best thing that I ever did when we got our first miniature schnauzer Katie was to purchase a copy of Dogs for Dummies, and the best piece of advice that I took from that book was to train your puppy to stand on a towel. Rain or snow . . . whenever she comes inside and sees a towel on the kitchen floor, she will stand there patiently and wait to be dried off. You can see how her furnishings can become caked with clumps of sticky snow. I keep a hair dryer handy for occasions such as this. She may have 'selective' hearing occasionally when I call her, but she excels at standing on a towel to be dried off. :-)

On Thursday evening, I attended a performance of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - The Musical" presented by the Arlington Children's Theatre. My young cousin, Miss T., had her very first speaking part in a production. Yeah!!! She loves acting, and everyone in the cast did a fine job. Not only do the children act, but they also move all of the sets around for each scene. They are totally involved in the production. It's a wonderful theater experience for children.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the holiday party at one of my other guild on Saturday morning. 

Sunday I hosted friends for our annual Christmas get together. We have been friends for many, many years . . . Sometime during the week, I managed to make some handy, quilted microwave bowl cozys to tuck into their gift bags. There are many free online tutorials; I used "Soup Bowl Cozy Pattern" at Happy Hour Stitches.

 That was about the extent of my quilting last week although I only have the edge to stitch on a fun wool applique piece on which I have been working.

One last thing . . . do you enjoy the Kennedy Center Honors program each year as much as I do? If so, did you know that you may watch sections of some of these shows from years past on Youtube? Those show are always so entertaining.

Have a great day and enjoy this special time of year.

Downton Abbey and a Very Quilty Month

If you are a Downton Abbey fan, drop everything and go see the movie. It's wonderful in every possible way, and it is as if you were visiting dear old friends (albeit those who live and work in a house a bit fancier than mine.) I saw it yesterday with a friend, and we both loved it!!! It was delightful seeing it all unfold on the big screen. I cannot wait to see the next movie which I imagine Julian Fellowes is already in the process of writing.

It has been two weeks since my last blog post, but I have been happily very, very busy. The only finished stitch piece was this wool applique, autumn themed vintage truck scene which was a pattern from Buttermilk Basin.

So, what else have I been doing quilt-wise? On Monday, Sept. 16th, I attended  "Meet the Teachers" at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell. This program allowed representatives of quilt guilds to hear from teachers who are eager to speak at our guild meetings. I'm mentioning this because there is currently at the museum an exhibit of the work of the late Sue Garman which is not to be missed. Her daughters have allowed the museum to host an amazing collection of her work. Her Baltimore Album quilts were exquisite and the range of her other quilts is definitely worth a visit. I first became aware of Sue Garmen when I made her Old World Santas quilt in 2012. Here is my quilt. I apologize for a not so great photo as it was was taken while it was hanging at our 2012 guild quilt show.

Sue Garman had designed many of the BOM quilts for The Quilt Show.  Her patterns are still available from her daughters on their website, Come Quilt.

At our first meeting of the year at the Herring Run Quilt Guild, I took a class taught by delightful, energetic Beth Helfter of Eva Paige Designs.  Beth has developed a fun technique for creating very scrappy "Accordion Sewn HSTs." She has a number of instructional videos on Youtube and a new book, OOMPAH! which explores her method.

On Friday, Sept. 20th, I took a class with award winning, improvisational quilter Marge Tucker at her Rockland studio. The class was "Eel Grass and Eddies (Long Layered Curves,)  and I have been addicted to making these blocks ever since. :-) [Marge was at the "Meet the Teachers" program at the Quilt Museum, and each of Marge's quilts was met with audible gasps. Her work is fresh and exciting, and she is an excellent instructor.]

Finally, at Tuesday's meeting of the Crosstown Quilters, our speaker was award winning quilter Pat Delaney whose trunk show was perhaps the most impressive trunk show that I have ever seen.  It was beyond words.

All of these lovely ladies have trunk shows and offer classes and workshops.  Click on their names to go to their websites for more information.

And now it is time to finish this up and take ever patient Emma for a long walk . . .

Crosstown Quilters Guild - Mystery Quilts

Yesterday was the first meeting of the Crosstown Quilters Guild's 1999-2000 season, and a summer of sewing activity produced an impressive show and tell session. Twenty-eight members also brought their completed mystery quilts. This quilt was designed by Laurie G. who runs our BOM ("Block of the Month.") It was interesting to see the impact made by the various color schemes.

At times, it was a bit like viewing Wilson from the old "Home Improvement" series who would peek over the fence to impart a bit of wisdom to the main character played by Tim Allen. :-)

We also welcomed ten lovely ladies who have joined our merry band of quilters. :-)

On Saturday, the speaker at the first meeting of the Herring Run Quilt Guild was Beth Heftler of EvaPaige Quilt Designs. She taught an afternoon class on her Accordian Sewn HSTs. I had heard her speak previously on this subject at another guild meeting, but I didn't quite get it. I do now after attending the class. :-) She has a new book and a three part demonstration on Youtube. Just search for EvaPaige Designs if you interested in exploring this method of making scrappy half square triangles.

I've been reading quite a bit lately, but not much that I would recommend.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I loved A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, so I was eager to read his first novel, Rules of Civility. Sorry,  though I finished it, it didn't hold my interest without a struggle.

Most of the works that I have been reading on my Kindle at bedtime have been in the cozy mystery genre, and therefore while pleasant enough to read not all that memorable.

I will recommend one novel, Marie Bostwick's From Here to Home. I am not usually a fan of quilt related novels as in general I find the writing lacking, but I did enjoy this novel that I picked up on the remainder table at Barnes and Noble. Mary Dell Templeton, host of fictional TV show Quintessential Quilting, is a feisty, fun, determined protagonist. The novel is filled with warmth and humor, and I am pretty sure you, too, would enjoy the folks living in Too Much, Texas. 

What have you been reading and recommending to your friends?

Summer Celebration of New England Quilts

Did you have a chance to visit the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell to see the Summer Celebration of New England Quilts? This was a special exhibit of quilts representing quilt guilds throughout New England. The exhibit runs through Sunday, September 8th.

 

Here's my friend Edith beside her gorgeous 9-patch quilt. Her quilt was chosen to represent the Crosstown Quilters Guild which meets in Weymouth, MA.

 

Another magnificent quilt was this hand appliqued masterpiece by Jane Hewitt whose quilt represented the Herring Run Quilt Guild that meets in Norwell, MA.

There were many, many other stunning quilts; here are just a few. (You may click on any image to see a larger image.)

Did you notice that the teenie tiny paper-pieced stars were only 1.5"?

The New England Quilt Museum also has a lovely gift shop.  A few of the wool applique pieces that I have done feature sheep, so I knew this cute little ewe would feel right at home on my mantel.

 

Have a wonderful weekend.