This One Feels Like a Keeper

It feels so good to get this particular quilt finished and washed up before Thanksgiving. All along, I've had the hardest time photographing this quilt. The yellow just keeps getting louder depending on where the light hits it!

Quarter Circles Round #2 all finished up!

Had to get most of the holiday baking done today before giving myself permission to get sidetracked on the computer. Quilts may be very high on my priority list but the rest of the family wants their pumpkin pie cold when they get up tomorrow morning.

Never underestimate the power of adding quilting stitches....

It's been a long crazy year, but we have so much to be thankful for. Don't want to ever lose sight of that do we?

It may have started out as a mistake, but this layout
looks like it was always meant to be!

Reading and hearing about the wildfire devastation in California is just heartbreaking. Honestly I can only take so much before I have to turn away. Lori over at Humble Quilts has a wonderful way that we can help out some of our fellow quilters in that area.

Yellow isn't my favorite color but it's definitely
worth playing with....

It may seem silly to some. Worry about sending quilting supplies to people who have been burned out of their homes? But quilting is extremely therapeutic to those who are used to having it in their lives. Very few people will feel free to use any hard won recovery/insurance money on 'hobbies'. From experience with close friends and relatives who have been there, I know they will tell you that they struggle with feeling good about spending money on anything but absolute necessities.

Something about this quilt....

Just sending a little bit can make that decision easier for them and help them get a good start on regaining such a positive and important part of their lives. Money is very tight for me this time of year, but it costs nothing out of pocket to dig around in my quilt room and come up with a small care package of quilty goodness. The only cost then is postage!

Loving all the  imperfect circles

I'll never forget how good quilters in our country {and around the world!} were to my own mother several years ago. She has never forgotten that outpouring of love and kindness from so many good hearted persons. And now I'll get off my soapbox. Truly, this is not what I normally do as I just assume that people give as they see a need, and usually do so quietly and from the heart--no prompting needed. Please don't feel any pressure or expectation from here, and definitely don't feel like you need to tell me one way or another what you choose to do. That's your private business and we're all perfectly okay with that.

Getting back to my fabulous yellow quilt now. It's been a very happy finish. In fact I can safely say that I adore it now after so many ups and downs during the making of it. So many great fabrics in it that really melt my heart! Must be the perfect mix of sweet and sassy. As you can see, I kept the quilting really straightforward and simple. So many times it feels kind of lame and pathetic {in a comparison sort of way}, but in the end, that's the stitching that resonates so emphatically with me. It's good to do the things that we love the most. To finish up and nod our heads. Yep, this one is a keeper!

Little Bits of My Weekend

I had a lot of company and busy things all weekend long. Family in from out of town helping out on mom and dad's house etc. I meant to get started on the handwork part of the binding for Worry Baskets this weekend, but kept passing it by. Binding is enjoyable, but I need to be in the right mood.

Worry Baskets still waiting for the stitching on the binding...

Apparently, it seemed easier to pick up my hand quilting late in the evenings instead of the binding. I'm right up to the borders on most of the quilt now which feels amazing. I almost can't make myself quit sometimes, but sleep is kind of important too.That's the hard part of doing my hand quilting at night. I always run out of time....

Big Stitch quilting on Scrap Basket #2

We had a big family dinner at our house once again. This is getting to be a regular event these days. We now have the biggest dining room [and table} of all our local family, seating 10 people--or rather 10 adults--as we always shuffle the kids off to the smaller kitchen table or wherever else they can catch a bite. It works for the way my siblings have been coming to visit mom and dad, in smaller groups for once instead of like the Holidays where they usually come en masse. Plus, we don't always have all of the local siblings to dinner at the same time or we have no choice except to eat buffet style. Which we have done and will do again. Anyone familiar with large families know that you don't always get to cozy up to the dinner table together! But... perhaps we were just spoiled because my mom and dads house had a dinner table that could seat about 14-15 people comfortably. Then during the holidays, my dad could arrange things so it would seat 20. Lots of good memories at that table....

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Anyway, for once I wasn't trying to figure out the main part of the meal and got relegated to desserts. Of course, being me, I panicked anyway. My initial reaction was just to buy icecream and call it good, but that seems so lazy! Finally, I settled on some of the desserts that I know and love and can depend on to turn out for me almost every time without fail.

Banana Crunch Cake

They got devoured and then some of us went back for seconds later. Who can resist the fall baking?

Pumpkin Roll

And then I finally made it back over to mom's to check out her latest haul. Still having envelopes/packages arrive! I wish I could convey how happy this outpouring of love and kindness has meant to her {and to me}. Thank you so very much to everyone who has taken the time to be a part of this. It's been a beautiful thing to see.

The latest Happy Mail!

These latest parcels are from California, Oregon, Louisiana, Texas, Idaho, Florida, New York, New Brunswick Canada and Australia. Wowsers. Makes me happy to call myself a quilter too!

Scrappy Tulips From the Scrap Bin & More Happy Mail For Mom

Well, I had to change the angle of the side pieces on my tulips to make the next three flowers work for me. Those side pieces were requiring scraps that were waaay too long to be finding even in my  overflowing scrap bins.

The first 4 Scrappy Tulips

I'm not going to actually sew the tulips together until I get all the individual units sewn. The thing is, I've been moving the pieces around and changing things up as I make each new unit, trying to pretty it all up. Hopefully I can make the most out of my scraps to make {strong looking} scrappy tulips without looking like I'm taking the fussing to a whole new level of insane. Perfect scrap attack quilts would be just be boring!

Getting my papers cut out and ready to go

For now I'm planning on making 16 tulips in all, string piecing with my foundation papers as I go. I prefer to work without the paper, but I'm afraid I'll have too much stretch with these shapes. Whether or not I put 4 tulips in a single block like the original pattern remains to be seen. And of course, if I don't have enough scraps in the right colors--things could could interesting on that front too. For now, I'm just enjoying playing with my scraps again. They really need to be taken down a notch or two and quit trying to intimidate me from over there in that corner.

The scrap monster over in the corner

I've tried different methods over the years to control the monster scrap problem, giving away {it kills me}, throwing others away {cut off my arm now}, cutting and sorting into precise strips widths {what a colossal waste of time-- will never have the right one anyway}, sorting by color etc. etc. Nothing really works for me except for a simple method of pre-sorting specific color ranges into smaller totes for an individual project. I have to say 'ranges' because maybe I want to work with cherry red this time instead of tomato red? And I always push the color clear into another area anyway, such as throwing a few purples in with my browns. Or whatever. Basically I've found this smaller-tote-system to be my personal way of controlling the chaos prior to diving into a scrap quilt. It gives me the necessary order and boundaries {I need} to make it possible to just grab and sew. No agonizing, time-sucking color decisions to make during the actual making.

After I'm done with said project, the scraps either stay in the small totes till the next time, or I just dump the leftovers right back on top of the big cascading pile. I've made about five scrap attack quilts with this particular method so I hereby declare it to be SUCCESSFUL! Honestly, if they all turned out like the current quilt in the hoop, I'd give up my regular methods of quilting altogether and just go play with my scraps full time.*wink

A little bit of scrappy goodness

And for those of you who were wondering? 'Cuz I know you are. My mom is still getting an envelope and/or package in the mail. Every. Single. Day! Pretty cool huh? Quilters everywhere are just so incredibly generous!

Still getting some Happy Mail Delivered!

This latest bunch (16 in all) is from Alabama, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, several from Georgia and California plus these countries as well: Saskatchewan Canada, BC Canada and a handful all the way from Australia. Seriously! Postage from out of the country isn't cheap! One of these boxes is from a few ladies in a guild. A little special something for a fellow quilter in need. All along there have been many notes that expressed sympathy and experience with dealing with the aftermath of a fire, whether from personal experience or by way of family, friends and neighbors. So very touching.

A happy story: That funky chicken fabric (you know who you are!) was extra special sweet because my mom is a chicken farmer at heart. Yes really! She's been raising her crazy chickens since before I was born. Anyway, the day after the fire, the grandkids managed to catch the very few chickens that survived and fix up a place to put them. Within one week, my mom had collected 8 hardy chickens, some half dead from dehydration, that she could tend to and fuss over to her hearts content. She actually hauled water in from another town until the water situation was fixed! Would you believe that those tough little hens have been keeping her well stocked in eggs ever since!True survivors to be getting right back to business like that. lol

I'm linking this post with Scraptastic Tuesday over at She Can Quilt. Maybe I'll stay motivated to clear out my scrap bins a little?

Having More Fun Than Should Probably Be Allowed

I am having so much fun hand quilting this particular quilt! All of the thread is #8 Perle Cotton and I am not having any issues at all with the thread like I do with the #5 (thicker) thread. It is sliding easily through the bulk of the quilt which makes for much faster quilting. MUCH faster! I am loving it!

Big Stitch quilting

Also, I finally found the Fons & Porters Big Stitch needles that I having been looking absolutely everywhere for. Would you believe they had them at JoAnnes? I had read about them on a blog somewhere (can't remember where of course) and they referred to them as 'big stitch' needles. Well.... the package actually says Utility Quilting Needles, something I normally just dismiss as not very useful. For some reason {desperation maybe?} I picked up the package and turned it over to read what it says on the back. Guess what it says? 'Recommended for 'big stitch' utility quilting. Use size 8 pearl cotton.'

Aha! I found my needles! And they work like a dream. A little lot on the longish side for complete comfort while quilting, but really big eye for easy threading. I know I'm sold. Go buy them now if you hate threading your Perle Cotton onto a needle like I do. And who cares about long needles when quilting with Perle Cotton. The stitches are supposed to be longer and chunkier anyway!

Scrap Attack #2

I made a super fancy template out of the cardboard that comes in a case of Pepsi. Basically I am using that to mark out the first hill shape that I want to stitch. Then I go back and stitch two more lines inside about 3/4 of an inch just eyeballing the distance, changing up the thread colors for each row. The only thing I'm consistent with is that I'm using red on the inside 'hill' every single time. Did I mention that I'm loving this quilt? lol  It just feels like a quilt that I can play with.

A homemade template

I also finished up the last four flowers of the red and green applique blocks. These are intended to be joined with my Basket Galore BOM blocks. I don't think these last four are quite as interesting as the other sixteen I stitched, but I find that my enthusiasm does flag occasionally depending on what is going on in our busy, busy lives. I'm sure they'll blend in nicely with the others. Or else.*wink

Red and Green applique flower blocks

On a different note, my mom received one parcel on Tuesday and another on Wednesday. Still trickling in! But as it looks like things are slowing down, I went ahead and cut out my brown fabric into nice little fat quarters for those that had the Hi Audrey! slips of paper inserted into envelopes/packages sent to my mom.

Giveaway fat quarters

My return fat quarters went into the mail yesterday so should arrive within a week depending on where you live. I'm guessing it takes awhile for the mail to get to Australia! Anyway, if, after a week or so goes by, you do not receive the expected fat quarter, please email me and let me know! I am keeping a list here at my house with all the pertinent details, but there is no guarantee that we haven't overlooked someone. Thank you again to everyone who has helped make my mom's last couple weeks so much brighter!

Another Status Report and Something From My Scrap Bin

Okay, I know what you're all coming to my blog to read about--the current status of mom's stash! She received about 5 envelopes/parcels on Saturday and then on Monday, wowsers! Dad hauled about 20 home from the post office! Yep. That tote below is the result of this unbelievable generosity from my fellow quilters.

Saturday and Monday fabric!

And people are not just giving fat quarters, which is generous enough by itself! Occasionally there is some larger pieces, a quilt book, maybe a pattern or two, thread, sewing machine needles, applique needles, small rulers, pins and other assorted notions. Overall, she's received a couple small kits and one beautiful larger one, fabric that was undoubtedly bought as part of a kit, charm packs, new fabrics, old fabrics, reproduction fabrics, florals, blenders, batiks, conversation prints, Japanese fabric, neutrals and every other kind of fabric you can imagine. It's simply incredible this outpouring of love and kindness. What is happening here is so wonderful! A daily building of a fabric stash that is rich in years, depth and variety--something impossible for my mom to go out and buy or even replace.

These last packages are from Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Oregon, Alaska, Texas, California, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, and also from these countries: Australia, Ontario Canada, Novia Scotia Canada, Alberta Canada, England, Spain and the Netherlands! So fascinating to see where it's all coming in from!

My mom's new stash

Over the weekend, my son started to put together a shelf to store grandma's totes on. He ran into a problem and then simply ran out of time before he had to go back home to Eugene.*sigh  A partially put together shelf is not very helpful! So yesterday, between my dad and my husband, they were able to finish the shelves and start loading the totes that had been filled {or mostly filled} over the weekend by my mom and sister. Last night, I added two more (one from the weekend and another from the Thursday/Friday haul). She also has two drawers in her small dresser that are mostly stuffed with fabric. Can you believe this?? I am in a state of shock almost every day. lol

A few of my scraps

So I'm playing with my scraps. You know, to find my equilibrium.*wink First I sort out the colors that are so sweetly calling to me. {Surprise, surprise to see these ones...} And then I look for my pattern, block or idea.

Yep, it's foundation piecing. I have clearly lost my mind....

Gotta love my $1 quilt books! So very inspirational as I somehow knew they would be. Those older books are usually loaded with good ideas. I'm not sure about this tulip though. It's a pretty big guy for my scrappy little scraps....

My big 'ol scrappy tulip

Oh well. It does give me a thrill to see it up on my design wall! That's usually a pretty good sign to keep on 'keeping on' with what I'm doing. What do you think? I do love my flowers....

Thank YOU!!

How in the world has it come to the point where I'm jealous of my mom's fabric stash again? lol Look at this latest windfall that showed up in my moms mailbox!!

Thursday and Friday goodies!

My son is in town to visit along with some other family and friends, so I've been practically running around in circles. So busy! But in a very good way. I just got a quick peek into the latest stack of packages from Thursday and Friday and oh my.... I am so drooling! Can't believe how generous everyone is being! One of my sisters (visiting from out of town) is helping my mom get some of it into a couple totes and off of the living room couch. Which just sounds crazy. Zero to 60 in just one week? hehe She already filled up a couple drawers to her mostly empty dresser too. It's a small dresser, but still! Pretty amazing stuff.

This latest batch of envelopes/packages is from Minnisota, Florida, California, Arkansas, Oregon, Ohio, Nebraska, New York, Illinois, Idaho, Missouri, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Jersey, plus one from England, Saskatchewan Canada, British Columbia Canada, Belgium and one package (via a fabric store) via Australia! I tried to write it all down but really, I tend to get distracted by the contents! Thank you once again to everyone that has played along! Even the lady at the post office is grinning about this now.

More Happy Mail and Sweet Progress On My Worry Baskets

You know I'm not an everyday post-on-the-blog kind of gal but this seems kind of important! Here's the Tuesday and Wednesday haul for my mom!

More Happy Mail!

She received envelopes/packages from Washington, Texas, Idaho, Connecticut, Oregon, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Montana as well as France, BC Canada, Alberta Canada and even Switzerland!!

Want to see what's inside?

It's really incredible how thoughtful people are being to a total stranger! Thank you so much to everyone involved! We love you!

Even the little envelopes are such fun for her to open as they can be hiding the very best pieces of fabric. We tried to lay out the goodies so you could see what all she's receiving, but the Simple Marks charm pack below had fallen to the floor without us even noticing. Hmmm... Is someone starting to get fabric practically coming out her ears? hehe

The fabric that was forgotten and forlorn on the floor for oh, maybe 5 minutes?

And just because I couldn't stand to wait and tell you later--here's my Worry Basket quilt with all the hand quilting completely done!

Worry Baskets quilt

I pieced together about four different blues for the binding and now I'm well on my way to getting the initial front side sewn on.

Sewing on the binding

I obviously appliqued some of the Fleur De Elise units too close to the outside edge so having a bit of trouble there. Oh well. You will never be able to accuse ME of making a perfect quilt.*wink

You Are All Amazing! You Know Who You Are....

Wow. Just WOW!!!!! My dad drove over to my house right after picking up the mail at the post office. As you can imagine, he was laughing his head off....

Back of my dad's work truck

Back at their trailer, he stacked all the Happy Mail up for my mom to see the minute she walked in the door... I was told her smile was enormous and she looked a little bit shell shocked!

Monday's Happy Mail!

And no wonder. Birthday? Christmas? How fun would it be to dig into all this? lol  My daughter and I helped open (not dig into) the envelopes and packages to speed things along. At the rate my mom was savoring everything, it could have taken days to get through it all! She didn't want to be in a picture, so I cheated and just got one of her hands. Mostly. hehe

All the back fabric is stacked on a small plastic crate, but still....
Can You Believe This? lol

Lots of sweet notes and special little pieces of fabric, not to mention a few notions, books and patterns.

Very sweet...

And this was only the 3rd day of getting envelopes, mailers and now boxes too? Just incredible. My mom received this from 2 provinces in Canada (British Columbia & Ontario), plus these states: Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Utah, Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Michigan, Massachusetts, Kansas, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico and Indiana--probably some I've forgotten!. You are all amazing!