What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

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 I was able to actually dig through my scrap bins this week!

I pulled some more blue scraps and made more of my switchplate blocks.

These are made with a total of five 1.5" x 3.5" strips. Super easy to make and I think they will be really fun to play with.

I now have 42 blue blocks to play with.  I just need to make a few hundred more in other colors.

I also cut a bunch of 3.5" squares from my low volume scraps.  I have a new project in mind and I am ready ...

 
It was too wet and cold for walks this weekend.   We had indoor entertainment instead.Saturday afternoon we saw  A Man Called Otto. It was wonderful--can Tom Hanks make a bad movie?  And Mariana Trevino as Marisol -- what a delight.  It complements the Swedish movie and the book.  

On Sunday afternoon we went to the College of Lake County to see The Great DuBois.Juggling and gymnastics!  The 350-seat Studio Theater is small and all seats had a good view. (The entry is at the back row and our seats were on the aisle.  Easier for Stevens to negotiate.  Mind ...

 Most of this week was spent sewing Compassion Quilt blocks together.  But I did remember that I still have my Switchplate blocks to sew for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this year.

I might even cut a few more squares so I can make ...

Top right:  milkweed pod. Center: "winter berries" is my generic name; moss is about the only green this time of year. Bottom: ground cherries; Indian hemp, aka dogbane, pods.  Here's more about dogbane.

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 It felt so nice to find some time this week to cut up some scraps.

I worked on my first Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for 2023.

The color for January is blue.

Twenty years ago this past week (January 2, 2003) I began a new job as director of the Zion-Benton Public Library.    It was my sixth and final professional position.  It was a good move for me and, I think, a good move for the library.  (This appointment began with less fanfare than APL in 1982 and that was perfectly okay.)

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 Boy, is my house a scrappy mess.  My sewing room reached max capacity, so I moved a sewing machine out to my dining room table.  It is now so covered with scraps, I am really unable to get much done.  

As you can see, I do have my blue scrap bin out and have been trying to cut pieces for my January RSC blocks.  I also have a couple of rail fence stacks waiting to be sewn into quilt tops.

My curious helper even jumped up there to see what the hubbub was about. He took one look at the ...

Fast away the old year passes . . . hail the new, ye lads and lasses!

We spent New Year's Eve watching 1883, the prequel to Yellowstone.  We've gotten caught up in the Dutton family saga.  I'm reminded of the epic movie How the West Was Won which made a big impression on me.  (It came out when I was 10.)  

While we watch I sew and I am pleased to report that I quilted and bound another one of the wheelchair quilts.   That's five out of eleven.  

The stash report for December:   fabric out, 81-1/2 yards.   Fabric ...

 Happy New Year Everyone!

My little Helper Arthur and I wanted to wish all of you the very best in 2023.

I always love New Years - by the time the end of December rolls around, I am done with the previous year and I look forward to a fresh start!

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 Most of my sewing this week was putting together brown/blue rail fence blocks into quilt tops.  But I am trying to work on other quilts at the same time.  

I have finished all the blocks for this quilt top and have almost all the rows sewn together.  I hope to get it loaded up on the longarm next week.

Tuesday noon:  I was co-hostess for the Zion Woman's Club luncheon and used my vintage tablecloths on each table. In lieu of a white elephant gift exchange we each packaged "festive food."  (I gave a gift box of Penzey's spices and received four different kinds of treats from Trader Joe's.)    We collected hats and mittens for kids at Elmwood  School in Zion. 

 This week seemed to fly by so fast.  I feel like I should have a lot more to show for it - but this is all the scrap sewing I did.

I made this single 16 patch block for a future donation quilt.

The huge cross in the Carthage chapel

Friday evening Stevens and I and our friends Debbie and Bill went out to dinner and then to the annual Christmas festival at Carthage College.  The concert has become a holiday tradition.   We noted fewer ...

 Finally!

I have been working on the fifth module of my Scrap Mixology series for seems like forever.  I am pleased that I finally finished it and I am ready to share some of the lovely quilts I made with it.

Lower left: a beaver lodge. Lower right: a ladder.   The trails at both preserves were 2.25 miles.  The more I walk the easier it gets!

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In the studio: 

The blue bin, home to fat quarters and chunks ...

 A few weeks back, I mentioned that I have been organizing a little something behind the scenes and that I would be sharing it soon.  I keep running into a few obstacles, but I think I am going to go ahead and let you know what I am up to.

Since the start of the pandemic, I have been evaluating what is important to me and what I want to focus on in the future.  I am working less on my "day job" so how do I want to fill my spare time.  That is why I decided to finally ...

 Brrr!  It's cold -- no walks this weekend.  I look forward to Wednesday-through-next-weekend when temps will reach 40.

 Even though my sewing time is limited now (new puppy), I am still able to find a few minutes here and there as he sleeps.  So, I am trying to focus that time on one specific project.

This week it was on this scrappy three-quarter log quilt I started months ago.  All I need to do now is make the half blocks that go on the edge and play with block placement a bit.

I decided to go with this up/down layout.  I think once the blocks are sewn together the effect is going to be awesome.  I hope ...