Playing Catch Up

I have fallen a bit behind on blogging, but I have a really good excuse.  I spent last Thursday through Sunday serving at Girls' Chrysalis, a spiritual retreat for young women from 15-22 yrs. of age. It was my privilege to serve these young women, as well as the staff (about 100 people) as part of the Kitchen Team. We were up before six and back in the dorm after ten most nights. My feet and back were aching, but my heart was full.  What a privilege to serve the Lord in this way.  We had a great team, lots of laughter, and I became "Gram" to some of the teens on the team.

This is a photo they posted on Snapchat....yes, I learned something new....now I am on Snapchat ;-))

I have to admit, it has taken me a good part of the week to recover.  These old bones just aren't what they used to be.

I finished this Lucy block last night.......#12.  Found the center fabric with the woman in my repro stash.  It had no selvedge, so I have no idea what the line is, but I thought it was pretty cool.

I added the background to this one today.  I plan to go back and add background to the ones that don't have it a little bit at a time.  I do love how it makes the colors look so different.

Last weekend was Mother-Son Dance on Friday night, and Father- Daughter Dance on Saturday night at Macy & Jackson's school. 

Looking good!!

More catching up tomorrow. 

Great Advice.....some I could heed a lot of nights.

Take Care,

Jennie

Hooking Progress

Yesterday was my monthly hooking day with three of my dearest friends.  It is lovely to share a craft.....and so many other things with such special women.....a true blessing.

I made quite a bit of progress on Oberly Tree.  

I had been struggling with the border. Barb had chosen the lighter border on the bottom, but there wasn't enough.  I substituted the piece that divides the two sections of the piece. While the colors were good, it was just too dark, too strong for the subtle colors in this piece.  Kathie had enough of a very similar wool to add to what Barb had chosen, so I will switch back to that.

Diane gave all of us early birthday gifts....

Mini pottery yarn bowls to hold our Valdani Perle Cotton. How darned sweet is that??

Did I mention that grooming day is exhausting??

Good advice ......

Take Care,

Jennie

January of the Dresdens

More scrappy Monday progress on the Dresdens.  I now have fourteen of the plates pieced and all of the wedges stitched, turned and pressed.... Ready to finish the remaining six! WooHoo :-))

And this is the next part of the plan.

I want to move out of my comfort zone a bit and give these very traditional Dresdens a more modern setting with the gray background and black and white polka dot centers.  The sashing will likely be the black and white dot, too.  I think that the gray takes the edge off the mish mash of blues, too.

I can't decide whether to machine buttonhole stitch or hand applique the blocks to the backing.....I am leaning towards machine stitching as I am not sure if I want to commit the time it takes to hand stitch this particular project.

Hope all of you got a little stitching time in on this bright, sunshiney day.

Take Care,

Jennie

Slow Stitching Lucies

It looks like the Lucy Boston blocks are going to be my go to for Slow Stitching Sunday(click the link and see what everyone else is doing).

I finished this one up....#11....

And am working on #12.....

I have been studying my Lucy book and perusing blocks online recently. What I realized is that most of my blocks read as darks....no lights and only one that  I consider to be a medium. The other thing is that I am doing blocks that are the 4-4-8-8 configuration almost exclusively. Block #11 is an exception as it is 4-8-12.  My goal will be to attain more variety in the blocks. I have one that is already cut that will either be light or medium when pieced, but the other one that is cut is another darker one. I will be working on this so that I can get the balance I want before I get too far along as well as some variety in configuration.

My firstborn celebrated her 44th birthday today. I really don't know where the time has gone. I do know that this daughter is an incredible blessing...actually, both of them are. Love you dearly, Miss Lady!

Celebrating last night with her sister and brother in law.

And here, today.

Words of Wisdom....

Take care,

Jennie

Slow Stitching Sunday

Another Blue ScrapHappy Saturday

As I visited the blogs of other participants of RSC2015, the Wonky Star block kept popping up. And the more I saw it, the more I liked it.  I found a nice tutorial over at Flutter Kat's Blog.  This is a big block.....20" finished.  Each of those squares are 4" finished.  And those are some ugly fabrics.  They came from swaps way back in the early 1990s. I can't believe I kept them. That being said, I think they look rather nice in this block.  The star is Snowmen A-Z scraps.  Can't wait for next month's color.

I am linking up to ScrapHappy Saturday with this post.

I finished binding Meadow Cosmos, but haven't had an opportunity to photograph it yet.  And I have another project underway that will be ready to show soon.

Words of Wisdom....

Hope you are staying warm where ever you are.

Take Care,

Jennie

Binding and Buddy

I am about half done binding Meadow Cosmos. I love to bind and this is perfect weather for it........a warm and snuggly quilt over my legs.

Yesterday was the first anniversary of Buddy's adoption. In some ways it seems like yesterday, and in others like he has always been with us. He still has some quirky ways, but we love him dearly and work around them. Wouldn't trade adding him to our family for anything.

Tonight was Bible Study at Kathie's. What a blessing this group of women are! We have been meeting together for about 3 years now and our relationships have really grown.

Take Care,

Jennie

More Dresdens for ScrapsMonday

I am joining Sherri again for ScrapsMonday (go visit and see what everone is doing) with more progress on the blue Dresden plates.  All of the wedges are cut, some are turned. I have partially assembled several sections of four. And I have 6 completed Dresdens, ready to be applied to the background blocks, which are cut.  Making progress here!

Last night I cut a couple of yards of the Lucy Boston background into 2 1/2" strips and then rotary cut a lot of background honeycombs.  It will be nice to have them available to baste when mindless stitching is called for.

Rob could use some extra prayers tonight.  He was diagnosed with flu, acute bronchitis, pharyngitis and sinusitis.  He looks so good that it is easy to forget what the chemo does to his immune system.

Real wisdom......

Take Care,

Jennie

A Perfect Day for Slow Sunday Stitching

Baby, it's cold outside! Not as cold as earlier this week, but a perfect day to settle in after church and a home cooked lunch (for a change on Sunday.....we usually go out) and enjoy a relaxing afternoon of stitchiness.

For Slow Stitching Sunday, I basted another Lucy Boston block and enjoyed the Spring goodness of the new issue of Primitive Patchwork and Quilting.  This magazine never fails to have projects that entice me.  I am linking up with for Slow Stitching Sunday today.  Click the link and enjoy what everyone else has done.

Later I came down and pulled a backing for this little top that I finished up last night(see the green fabric under the Lucy pieces)...... A project from deep in the UFO stack.  It will make a nice gift for someone one of these days.  I have another set of similar blocks.....it was supposed to be queen sized....but they can wait for another time.  It is nice to have one more UFO ready for quilting; and to have been able to pull sashing fabrics and background from stash.

I think I will work on getting Meadow Cosmos, another UFO, bound this week. I only lack the hand stitching , but it is a big quilt.

Hope everyone had a warm and restful day.

Take Care,
Jennie

ScrapHappy Saturday Blue #2

The second blue block for RSC2015 is Card Trick. I must admit that whenever I have looked at this block before, my eyes have crossed and I moved right on to something else.  This time, I paid attention to the simple instructions, and it is a go. Not perfect, but not bad either.  These blocks are increasing my proficiency with the Easy Angle and Companion rulers, too.  I bought them a long time ago because Bonnie Hunter uses them, but I never became really comfortable with them. Looks like these blocks will give me a workout with them.  Thanks, Angela!  I am linking up with So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday with this block.  Go see what other participants are doing.

Today I got a great gift in the mail from Jan at Sewing Adventures!  I am so excited.....I rarely win anything....but this time I hit the jackpot.  Thanks for a bright beginning for the NY!

The past two days have been busy. Back to the sewing machine shop to pick up the Bernina, lunch with my niece and a visit with my sister and brother in law at their assisted living residence yesterday.

I was able to get some prepping done on the Lucy blocks, though.

Today was Chrysalis training, lunch out with hubby, a few errands and a nice nap (does that count as busy??).

Take Care,

A Little More Progress

Was able to make a little more progress on the Oberly Tree at Woolgatherers today.  I probably won't touch it again until my small group meets the middle of the month.  I am more focused on my quilting projects right now.   For some reason, that is generally the case at the first of the year.  I do have two big UFO rugs and one WIP rug that I want to finish this year. None of them need a huge amount of work, however all require concentration that isn't conducive to group hooking.

This is the quilting UFO that I pulled out to finish.  The blocks are all done, and the settings just need completion. Should be an easy one.  You can see where I left off here...http://overthehillandrunning.blogspot.com/2014/07/country-threads-2014.html.

I am doing some of the blades for the blue Dresden Plate as Leaders and Enders while stitching on the UFO quilt.  I only need about 300 more :-((. On the positive side, they are all cut.

Words of Wisdom....

Take Care,

Jennie

Oberly Tree

When I was at Barb Carroll's in August I started a second rug....one of her coverlet designs, Oberly Tree.  I loved the trees, the simplicity of the design and the orientation of the pattern.  It is a rug that lends to hanging rather than floor use.

I had set this rug aside in favor of other projects. But when I needed a good project for our hooking group last night, it came to mind.  I was able to get a fair amount of the red background completed. Tomorrow I will take it to Woolgatherers and do a bit more.  Before you know it, it will be finished....I hope.

And now, a couple of family photos.....

Sara Ashley jumping on Bucky.  I am so proud of her.....she only started jumping a few months ago.  Her teacher says she is doing great.

Rob and Christi, into a little Karaoke on NY's Eve.

Take Care,

Jennie

A Finish and Some Flimsies

Woohoo! My first finish for 2015.....

The Scrappy Churndash lap quilt that I started this time last year.

Please excuse the photos on this post. The color is dull and not true. They were made with flash lighting in my sewing studio last night.

Donder and Blitzen by Jan Patek. I started this one before Christmas, but laid it aside to do Snowmen. It is ready to quilt when I get my machine back.

And the Country Threads BOM. Finished putting this one together last night. The binding is cut and I was able to pull backing (6 yards of it) from stash. Just need batting and it will be on its way to be quilted. If you made this and are thinking yours doesn't look quite the same...it probably isn't. The whole top section of it is flipped because I used a directional fabric in the top left hand block, and when I assembled it, I put it in upside down. No way I was tearing it out when I could just flip the whole section. I don't think it really changes the overall look, anyway, so glad to have this one off my plate.

Tonight is Happy Hookers. I am looking forward to seeing everyone. Seems a long time since last month. And it has been awhile since I pulled up any loops. My bag is packed and ready.

Now I need to get dressed, run a few errands and have a good Mexican lunch with hubby, friend Dave and daughter Christi. Thinking some Mexican Chicken Rice soup would be good on this chilly day.

Take Care,

Jennie

Scrappy Monday

Scrappy Monday, proposed by Sheri at A  Quilting Life, seemed the perfect challenge for today, and works hand in hand with RSC2015.  I have been following Sheri's great blog for sometime now. She is quite the talented quilter and designer.....and motivator. And she is most generous in sharing her talents and encouragement.  I am linking up to  her blog with this post.

Using her idea to make scrappy Dresden Plate blocks (one of my all time favorites), and following the lead of the color of the month....Blue.....I dug into my blue scrap bin.  Not being a huge blue fan, there were not so many as in some other bins.  But still, plenty to work from, and lots of those "what was I thinking" kinds that benefit from being sliced into small wedges.  I sliced up enough for about twenty 12" finished blocks.  Still plenty of blue left, by the way.

A quick refresher using Sheri's tutorials, along with an old one from Eleanor Burns proved helpful.  Got a really cool tip from Eleanor on getting those points on each wedge pressed evenly and equally distributed.

Was able to finish three plates this morning and plan to work on them throughout the month. I have some setting ideas in mind. Hopefully it will be a top by the end of the month.

Now it is time to attack those last Country Threads 2014 BOM blocks and get that top assembled and off my plate. It qualifies for today's scrappy theme, too......Reproduction prints in Browns, tans and reds.

Hope you all have a productive, scrappy day!

Take Care,
Jennie