A Glorius Day in the Neighorhood

Well it turns out that my neighbor Dewey is not the only feline jigsaw puzzle aficionado. Here is my godchild Kristin's cat Franklin. How many piece he actually placed or whether he merely served in a supervisory role is unclear. 

We have turned the page, and it is finally May. Thank goodness! April was the coldest April on record since 2007 with not one day over 62F.  Today, May2, it is already 68F. Yeah!!!  Emma and I were able to take a long walk this morning in the bright, warm, restorative sunshine.  The glorious weather does seem to lift one's spirits.

I have completed a few more circles for the Sue Spargo "90 Day Toned - Down Sampler" wool project. You may find information on her Facebook page and her website. I love how the wings on the butterfly and the bee are dimensional.

Though I continue to make face masks, I have not been able to get my quilting mojo going. Alex Anderson from The Quilt Show is going to do a live streaming quilt along starting Monday, and so I have purchased her pattern, "Sequoia Sampler." (Note: the lessons will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and you may also check them out on Youtube at your convenience. You may purchase the PDF or the paper printed version of the pattern HERE. )

Her Friday program dealt with choosing fabric from one's stash for this quilt. I have only one fat quarter packet that I won at a recent  guild meeting, but as I have another quilt in those colors presently in timeout, my quilt will be probably scrappy. {Note to non-quilters: when we get tired of working on a project, we will often bundle it up for another time and say it is in "timeout."}

I wish you peace. Stay safe. Stay strong. Have hope. We will get through these troubled times.

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   It is the end of week six in isolation for those of us in Massachusetts.
   As of May 2, 2020 . . .

                                      Cases                         Deaths 

World                        3.3 million                 241,000
United States            1.1 million                    65,000+
Massachusetts            66,263                           3,846

Find a Bright Spot Every Day

Hello Fellow Quarantinees . . .  How are you doing today?  Sometimes okay? Sometimes terrified? Sometimes despairing? Sometimes overwhelmed? All of the above at different points?  We need to try and seek out bright spots in each day.

My backyard is filled with daffodils. If you have been reading my blog for a long time, thank you. If you are new to my blog, I encourage you to read the story of these daffodils, "Full Circle" which I posted way back in 2011. I guarantee you will enjoy that post, and I promise you that every word of that remarkable story is true.

I, along with  I am sure quilters all across the country, have been spending my days sewing masks and am grateful to have something useful to do.

Speaking of quilters, may I again remind you that The Quilt Show is posting wonderful videos a couple of times each week. For example, today, Alex Anderson talked about using silk. Thursday, Ricky Tims will be presenting a lesson, and Friday, Alex will talk about straight line quilting. Just go to The Quilt Show website and scroll down to the bottom to find a list of videos which you may view at any time on that site or on YouTube.

I have been working on a wool applique piece which is coming along well. I pick it up in the evening and am enjoying working on it. I have also decided to do the Sue Spargo - "Toned Down Circle Sampler." Each day for ninety days, Sue Spargo will present a design for one circle. Last night I cut 90 (one inch)  wool circles from my stash for this project. I am getting a late start, but no worries, I will catch up. :-) You can find more information about this in my previous post.

My colors are definitely not "toned down," but I wanted to work with bright, happy colors.  As you can see, I have the circles arranged and pinned with tiny applique pins. I will whip stitch each circle down before adding the special stitches. This is an excellent, free learning opportunity. One more thing to add to my post - Coronavirus "to do/wish" list . . . go on a Sue Spargo retreat.

Stay safe and well. Be kind to yourself. Have faith that we will get through this.

I wish you peace.