Scrappy Bargello, and a Welcome Visitor

I've recently heard that Bonnie Hunter's  Scrappy Bargello are "everywhere" -- It's time for me to make another one - they are fun and excellent scrap user, as well as a charming Linus/kids quilt..  Here is one block - I've made 16, heading for 24, but I ran out of that spring-y green plaid.  An order was placed on line for 2 possibilities, and when my order arrived, the blue/green plaid on the right was chosen.  It's gonna work!  Today I'm getting the rows together.

Guess who/what is baaaaaaccccckkkkkk!  8-))   For months, we've been noticing a pile of poop ( LOL ) under one of the evergreens but could never find the roosting culprit until today.  Perhaps this is our pooper! Do you see him?  My goodness he's almost invisible this time of year, wearing whitish plumage. 

He didn't even open his eyes to look at us - such a bold little thing.  If you don't remember my stories of his and his family's visit last year, he is a Screech Owl.

We still have a bit of snow, temps are mid 40s, but more snow is expected tonight.  Stay warm, little Screech Owl!

The KID in the BARN

Our winter has again been mild, with little snow, but just to be prepared, we purchased "the kid", a new snowblower last October - (DH always MUST be prepared).  It's more powerful than the old junker, and I've been eager to learn how to use it.  This one doesn't take so much muscle, but has been living unused in "the barn" for months, because of no snow.  "The Barn" is our name for the traditional garage, as we both come from country background.  "The Kid" is the snowblower's name,  like the poor step-child who is relegated to doing the hard/dirty work.

Now, to explain about why I was eager to use this machine -- when I was 16, living on a farm and in charge of a number of my horses, and while some of my lucky girlfriends were getting cars at age 16, my father gave ME a manure spreader - yes, that's right, and I was a HAPPY girl!  (a wheelbarrow can only do so much)  I could hitch that International Harvester manure spreader behind the International Harvester tractor and take care of business.

Today was THE day!!!  After some guidelines and instructions, I CAN do it!   Not bad for a Senior Citizen of ... uhhhh, "old"! 

Sunny Lanes, and Puzzle DONE

This block is called Sunny Lanes -  I LOVED the name (thinking about walking down the long farm lane to the mailbox as a little girl) and before planning (uh hemmmm) I just jumped in, thinking I'd use MORE fabric up with these larger pieces.  One finished block is 16 inches.  However, above are 2 x 2 blocks that make this nice design - 4 blocks across is just 64 inches - not quite large enough (I didn't want a border).  6 blocks will be too big, and 5 blocks, while the "right" size for what I wanted loses the design.  Oh great - I just didn't think!  My suggestions would be to make a 12 inch block if you make this one.

OK, I could do this alternate setting (above) with any number of blocks (forget the 2 x 2 blocks in upper right) , and I'm thinking 5 blocks x 6 blocks = 80 in. x 96 in.  -- sounds like a plan. No fabric was purchased for this project.   The "white" was various plain white fabrics and I was concerned it would be noticeable.  NOT - many times we worry too much (I did!) about things that don't amount to a hill of beans!  At this point, I am unable to tell one "white" from the other, and by the time it's quilted, all the whites will look exactly the same.

There's the DONE puzzle quilt.  See that "hole" along the top edge?  Oh great, one piece lost - how can that be??  We finally had to put it all back in the box, with one piece missing, took the leaf out of the table, moved the table back into position and there was the one lost piece, under one of the table legs.  8-))  This puzzle was a doozy, but it filled up the dreary long month of January. 

RSVP Raffle Quilt, and Jigsaw Puzzle

Our local in-town sewing/quilting group of 5-10 members, was asked to donate our skills and time to make another  raffle quilt for RSVP - Retired Senior Volunteer Project.  We settled on a Scrappy Friendship Star, each of us took home a piece of "focus" fabric so all the blocks blended.

The Friendship Stars that came back were indeed, uhhhhh SCRAPPY!, and while we all HOPE they will blend nicely together, the great variety appeared scarey and possibly overwhelming - many of us were doubting!  Possibly, you also have occasionally endured the same unsettling thought --  the "how can this ever turn out?" doubt. 

As soon as we started playing with borders, the quilt almost designed itself!  Adding that ribbon border also gave it the almost-finished look we were hoping for.  Lastly, the quilting, done by our friend Chell, absolutely took our project from "a Raffle Quilt" to "Stunning !"  Wow - this is a lesson - finish your UFO quilts!  Remember? "Quilting Makes the Quilt!"  I'm including a link to her site - I'll bet you'll agree it's a lovely finish! (She has better photos, as well!) A binding and label will finish it. 

 

Separate subject - jigsaw puzzles.  I gave DH a birthday (December) puzzle that would take a long time to complete (you know, long, cold dreary January) !!!  Uhhhh -- success!   I shopped at this site.  My gosh, the choices available are astonishing and you can narrow your choices by age, themes, sizes, # of pieces - there was no end of options. This is 1000 pieces, but what they didn't say for this choice was that many of the pieces are interchangeable - this one was NOT easy! Good thing we didn't need the table for 2 months!  BTW, DH loves boats.  Not many gifts can last this long!  LOL

Notice the almost identical shapes of those all-blue sky pieces!!!

All Day Sew, & Linus Quilt

 Friday afternoon, I attended a local, All Day Sew, for most of the afternoon.  While the wind was howling and blowing and threatening to be a blizzard, about 12 of us were able to enjoy each other's company, warmth, lunch, snacks, and sew with no interruptions for many hours.  Delightful!!  Thank you Gene and Nancy for arranging this gathering.

The blizzard only threatened, but didn’t materialize.

Above, is my mess and Linus "I Spy" Quilt in Progress, with a friend in the background.  I tried machine quilting with my small travel machine, a small, 11 lb. Janome.  While the spiral stitches were good, my hand area was just too small and limited movement.

 Isn't that backing incredible????

Here are some of the cute motifs from Keepsake quilting - these are all 5 inch squares, 50 come in the order, I deleted a few and added several of my own.  They are all EXCELLENT quality, contemporary motifs -- saved me time.  I would definitely recommend using them -- they are called Kids something or other.  This is the 4th or 5th quilt I've made using these squares from Keepsake Quilting. I'll do it again!

Yeppers, that's snow on the ground. Yeppers, it's DONE!!!

I'm Still Here!

I'm hangin' on!  Wow - time flies when you're having fun - is that how it goes? 

I've been called back to my job again, until my replacement recovers from medical issues.  I AM getting some quilting done -- hope you haven't given up on me!!!  I truly am honored to be able to help out -- these adjustments DO take some getting used to!  Mostly, I'm wishing for recovery for my September replacement.