What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I got sidetracked big time yesterday!! I was supposed to be downstairs sewing, but the night before, I started reading a thriller, and well, I needed to know what happened. So while I did get some things done, I finished my book before I went to bed last night! 

And you know what? Every once in a while, we need to do that! The book was called "A Death at the Party" by Amy Stuart. Oh boy --- an interesting concept! Now today, I need to get some work done!

I grabbed a few pieces of paper from the floor beside ...

 I'm sure you are all getting tired of my secret stars and hearts projects by now.  But I have just finished hand stitching the binding down on the second quilt.  Now I have to wait till I catch up with the recipients.  They don't know I've been making these, (I'm sure they don't read this blog), so it will be a surprise for them.

Two secret quilts, finally finished

I went to visit an exhibition on Friday, held at Speldhurst Country Estate.  This is a large retirement village, built in the grounds of a former ...

 I attended a Stitching Day on Saturday, organised by my quilt club.  It's a very casual affair, a small friendly group of us go along, coffee and tea provided, we take a packed lunch, and work on whatever project we wish.  I find it too difficult to unplug and transport my sewing machine anywhere these days, so take hand work with me.  And stitching a quilt binding down is perfect for me on these stitching days.  You may remember I am doing secret sewing with blue hearts and stars - these two quilts have now been commercially quilted, and I ...

 Yes... Christine and I were at quilting retreats two weekends in a row! I had a second set of projects lined up to take to our annual Spring Oxford Guild retreat before the Camp Kintail retreat.  The truth is that I could go on even more retreats and still come up with projects to work on.  Christine is in the same boat!

I finished up my chain link blocks for the vice president's challenge--I have decided to set them on point but have not decided if I want to add sashing or not before sewing them together.  I will ...

Despite this newfound focus, it seems challenging to move ahead. WAIT --- I know that I'm getting things done, but the progress seems slow. I know it's not, when you consider how many hours I actually sew each day. I make the most of the time I spend in Studio B and call it a day. There is NO RUSH to get these things done!

Oh my gosh --- what am I complaining about - I still accomplished a LOT. The abbreviated "Dear Jen" is now quilted. I was hoping to get it trimmed, but that didn't happen. A job ...

I love all your comments about being busy in retirement! I will always be busy, but I guess my point is that I see retired people constantly signing up for commitments. They head up a committee, take tons of classes, or make themselves accountable to SOMETHING or SOMEONE, and that accountability fills their day. It's almost like working again. 

You need to be busy, but if you decide to take a day off from quilting, who will care? I want to be busy, but free of deadlines and headaches! And being accountable to others. While I still have responsibilities ...

I spent many hours working on my computer, searching for photos, cleaning up files, and much more.

I'm looking forward to 40 degrees when I leave for PT today.

 I decided to spend this week going through the scrap bin and grabbing fabric that was appropriate for bindings.  Most of these scraps came from the trimmings of backing after quilting.  

Today will be 30 degrees and then we will be above freezing for a week..or more.  The little bit of snow that was on the grass melted on Friday.  There are still small piles at the side of my driveway.

FOCUS --- it's a tricky thing! But I have my visual list and my blue UFO bin, and I refuse to let anything get in the way of finishing those projects. Oh -- there are loads of things to do, but I know I can't do them all, so I picked a few, and that's my goal! It has taken me a very long time to get to that point, but I refuse to get sidetracked!

Just a teaser: this is the project Dede and I worked on. Wait—soon you'll get to see it yourself. Absolutely stunning ...

We got up to 37 degrees yesterday, the first time above freezing in almost 3 weeks.  Now we have 2 colder days over the weekend and then 30s and 40s next week.

This quilt is made of floral fabrics that are mostly from the 1990s, with a few newer ones added in for variety.  They are 6" squares and really show off the beauty of the florals.