Feline Friday - 4/2/21

THIS, @specialkitty, is the paw of disapproval!

Your sturdy packaging is deterring me from getting extra snacks while Momma sleeps all night.

And trust me, I tried to get through both sides of this package!

Feline Friday - 3/12/21

Uncle Tommy has taken up making maple syrup!!

He's tapped trees at his house, GrandPoppa's house and 2 trees at my house for a total of 10 taps.

Every morning and evening Momma and I trek out to our trees to see how much sap there is. It's a easier trek now that the snow has melted. Then Momma tells Uncle Tommy how much there is and Auntie Kristie picks it up after work. 

Uncle Tommy boils sap (up to 10 gallons a day) from when he gets home from work until he goes to bed. We've seen pictures of the maple syrup but I haven't gotten a taste yet. Momma says the sap wasn't that sweet so I don't know why everyone is so excited about the syrup...it's certainly a lot of work!

Monday Catchall - 3/8/21

I thought I would share a couple of the projects I've been working on recently...

For my birthday gift to myself, I joined the Smitten BOM with Pink Door Fabrics. Each month for a year we get enough Tula fabric to fussy cut 3 or 4 of these large hexagons. I didn't bring the size with me but I'm going to guess the final quilt will be couch size. I have less than half to go on the fourth hexagon for Month 1. Month 2 should ship this week.  Other goodies in the BOM include a project bag, an acrylic Smitten key chain and monthly glue pen refills. I skipped the monthly Aurifil thread add-on as I don't color match my threads. The BOM also has a great Facebook page with video tutorials. I highly recommend Pink Door for BOMs. 

 

I joined #100days100hexies2021 challenge on Instagram where I am @sarahdidit17. Each week has a theme, usually pretty open to interpretation, which is good 'cuz I don't have a lot of small things to fussy cut for the 1" hexies I chose to use as I can use them for my ZiggZagg project.

The first week was Sewers Choice and I chose fabrics to tell a little about myself. Each daily hexie was photographed on a relevant background so I hope you'll pop over to IG to see the original photos.

1. My obsession: hexies
2. Zorro!!
3. I'm Irish
4. I'm an EMT
5. Chocolate
6. I'm a homebody
7. I live in Western NY

This week's theme is treasures. I've got a few ideas but not enough for the week. I was able to fussy cut about half of what I'll need for the entire challenge so now I can spend some extra time finding the harder themes...

Feline Friday - 1/22/21

 Peek-a-boo!

Stitch faster Momma - there's another clue coming out this weekend!! 

I'll stay right here to help while you work on the mothership! I wouldn't mind a snack once in a while if you have the time...

==============
Momma here:  I've done the quilt math - yes, I'm that nerd - we've had 10 clues so far. In the first six we were to do 529 hexies. The last 4 has 522. I'm only working on clue #6 so I'm not even half way caught up. I was all energized to keep plugging along until I did the math to find out I'm not even half way there plus another clue will be out on Sunday. Don't do the math people. Just don't. Sometimes ignorance is bliss when it comes to large projects.

Feline Friday - 1/8/20

 I've been helping Momma around the house...

Last weekend Momma was trimming HSTs to make more itsy bitsy blocks for her Omigosh quilt. It's a pretty tedious process so I decided to help. It worked cuz she stopped and appeared to be done right away.

She's also been spending lots of time on the couch working on her mystery quilt. I like to lie down with her sometimes when she's using my fleece blanket. Sometimes I even let her give me some belly rubs. 

Yes... in my old age I have finally discovered I like belly rubs. 
Cranky old men are allowed to change their minds at any time so please don't judge me...

Feline Friday - 3/27/20

Given that Momma's office door is locked during NYS on Pause, she can sometimes work from home while her deputy is in the office to do some work and answer the phone.

On Monday, I spent the first hour watching her work on the dining room table. I've wondered for a long time what that table was for as she generally drops her work bag there when she gets home and then eats on the coffee table.

I was exhausted from so much snoopervising so I had to take a quick nap or three.

Eventually Momma set up her "standing desk" to check emails.

I'm pretty sure it's still the ironing board but I snoopervised anyway.

Yes! That is a stink eye!

This level of snoopervision is exhausting and I'm not sure how many more work from home days I can sustain this...I might need my own deputy...

Luckily we took an exercise break in the afternoon to play.
I'm hoping we take more breaks next time Momma works from home!!!

Wednesday Weather Report #146 - 3/4/20

It's been a weather roller coaster again this week: we had a blizzard, a lake effect snow storm and several rain storms. Mother Nature is off her meds *again*! I have no idea what to expect next...

February 26-29, 2020 :: 34 - 22 - 24 - 18 F
March 1- 3, 2020 :: 36 - 52 - 47 F

I finished the Carpenter's Wheel block. It was amazing how quickly I finished the last quarter of the block given how long the first quarter took me. I was just dreading those 100 pieces.

And I'm almost done with this Wagon Wheel block - 2 more seams and then applique it to a background.  I actually glued these pieces - curves are easier with glue and the center didn't need to be basted. The center of the wheel should be covered with a circle but I'm pretty sure I'll stitch a hexie instead. Wink. I have just one more Underground Railroad block to finish and then I can start working on my triple sashing idea.

I am pretty sure this is 4 paws of approval for my Irish Chain Quilt! The overall quilt is 7x9 blocks and I just have 3 more long seams to put the whole top together - two of which are already pinned. I've been working on it piecemeal between chores. Kind of a quickie reward for cleaning the fridge kind of thing.

Happy Hump Day!!

Everything Day!!!

It's hard to know where to start today - so many things to share - and there are lots of pictures so I'll just make a photo roll to share everything. Enjoy!!

Several of the trees in the village where I work have been
yarn bombed. They are all adorable but this snowman shows the snow
storm that arrived yesterday, just in time for my birthday. Woot!

"My" highway guys took me out for breakfast this morning!

There was even cake! Thankfully it was only 1 candle when
this is one of the bigger "9" birthdays.

But wait - later there was more cake from another coworker!

Have you ever seen a Birthday cactus?
This also blossomed for Halloween

It's been a while since I posted anything for HeLP but I have been
making progress on my Underground Rail Road blocks for hexie
club. This is birds in the air. 

In this basket is nearly 40 shoofly blocks waiting to be
pressed and trimmed with my bloc loc ruler. In the back
you can see 2 very important items for any quilting space.
Which 2 would you pick?

And what fun is time in the quilt lab if the Quality Control Officer is not
there sleeping on the job in his very own quilt lined plastic bin?

And last but not least is my favorite but injured feline. Due to fur matting and Z not wanting me to investigate, I'm not sure what caused the initial injury but he has now stopped limping and the matted fur is gone, leaving just a scab. The funny thing is the app my local vet uses sent Z a birthday wish this week. They used the first time he came to the office as a birthdate so in  reality, it's the anniversary of his first visit for an abscess. Boys will be boys, huh?!

And now it's your turn to share...do you have a furry friend to share for Feliine Friday? Or maybe you have a hexie project to share for HeLP?

Have an excellent weekend! It's sunny and cold here, the ground is covered in snow, my little old man is on the mend and I can't ask for much more...

Wednesday Weather Report #130 - 11/13/19

Thanks to the cold weather, I've had some extra snoopervision lately. I'm not so sure he's been checking on the quality of my work as gaining (stealing?!) warmth from being in my lap =^..^=

November 6 - 12, 2019
42 - 31 - 26 - 35 - 42 - 29 - 20 F

We were soooooo close yesterday to adding a third new/colder color (violet) in just 12 days. I'm sure it'll happen soon enough and then I'll wish it would go away. We had a decent amount of snow on Monday but we didn't break any local snow records whereas there were several neighboring towns/cities that did get ~10", which broke records. Thew snow is still fresh and white, meaning I'm enjoying it. I won't have the same response in a month or so...

Feline Friday - 11/16/18

We got a wee bit of snow last night...

I like to hide under the car while Momma shovels but I wasn't sure we still had a car at first.

Eventually she found the car...but it was hard getting the door open to push the snow out of the way!

It's too bad Momma can't shovel straight

But eventually she gotter done!

Yippers - the pear tree still has every single green leaf

And where was I snoopervising from?

Well, right here, inside this window, of course. I ain't no dummy!!

PS - Don't forget that a week from today will be a special Feline Friday for all the cats in our lives that we've been thankful for. I hope you have been finding pictures to join in the linky party!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Weather Report #77 - 11/7/18

I really wanted to post something on Monday but it's been a crazy busy week. I'll try to get my new bazaar items posted tomorrow. The good news is that fall job#2 should be done in about a week, giving me back my lunch hours for blogging and hexies! Well, and for eating of course.

And heck - I just realized that yesterday was the first Tuesday and we should have hosted The Bibliophile Files - I'll do that next Tuesday.

Only 2 weeks until a 4 day weekend! I. Can't. Wait!

We had a wind storm blow through last night (hahahaha). I had de-leafed the front lawn on Sunday but had run out of daylight to make a dent in the side yard. It's just as well because this tree is now pretty much bare. I forgot to check the maple tree in the back yard but I'm going to guess it's about the same.

October 31:  60 F
November 1-6: 43 - 51 - 41 - 46 - 54 - 60 F

Yipp we hit 60 on Halloween to begin the week and by the skin of our teeth we also hit 60 again to finish the week. I was willing to get a tad creative yesterday to hit 60 at 1pm (averaging the 4 weather apps on my phone: 58, 59, 61, 62....a strangely wide spread) but by 1:30 my main app was reading 60 so either way I'm good with 60 as yesterday's "official" temp. The rumor mill is calling for snow showers next week but I'm not getting excited until I see it...or shovel it!

October 1-31, 2018

I'm not sure if the QCO is upset with the workmanship or the weather. There have been many days that he has not liked the weather enuf to stay inside for the day so I'm going to guess my workmanship is up to par :)

And with the close of the October weather hexies, "we" are now officially into the 6th month of this year's temperature quilt.

Have you started a temp quilt? It doesn't have to be hexies - any quilt block would work. And please don't wait until January 1st. My January first came and went at least three times before I finally got this project started 5/17/2017. Once you get started you will also wonder why it took so long...

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Weather Report #72 - 10/3/18

First, lets catch up from last week...

September 19-25, 2018
68 - 67 - 66 - 53 - 58 - 61 - 69 F

And then this week...

September 26-30, 2018 68 - 60 - 66 - 60 - 54 F
October 1-2, 2018 53 - 69 F

Yes, there has been quite a down swing in the weather the last couple of weeks but give it time, we are expecting orange (near red) over the weekend which is One. Last. Chance. to get yard work done...

The Quality Control Officer decided to help with photographing the complete month of September.
He's always so helpful and I love him to pieces!

It's hard to believe that we are beginning month 5 already!!

Yipp, I still need to change the 2 neon greens in the June column to the new darker green. I'm also trying to decide between another darker green for 40s or a teal color. The teal would make the color differences more obvious but the 2 contrasting greens would be more consistent with last year's color scheme, which is only important for comparison purposes. I am leaning towards the teal...because one change won't make that big a deal in the grand scheme of this project.

I don't have a picture of Mr Serious yet for the week but progress has been a little slow going due to other commitments in the last 5 or 6 days. Not to worry tho as I have a house sitting gig with my neph-dogs over the weekend and that means lots of TV binging (they have millions of cable channels and the dogs don't care what I watch) and stitching. Must remember to bring the Ott light!

And now it's your turn to share your weather! Have your temps been dropping as well? Are you socked in with pea soup fog like we had on Monday? Are you in the midst of an Indian Summer? Do tell!

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas is coming...

It was a lazy weekend which lead to a little progress on a lot of projects.

I'm just going to bore you with two...

You will recall that I finished stitching my hexie tree skirt last week. The next step was to buy backing and binding fabric. I found this lovely poinsettia for the backing but I haven't settled on binding fabric just yet. As they say, there is plenty of time.

I bought the end of the bolt, just an inch shy of 2 yards since I wasn't sure how much I was going to need. The pattern called for 49" square backing and at the end of a Friday I wasn't in the mood for math. My original plan had been to quilt this baby with the diamond points on but when it became apparent that the backing was almost close to the size of the tree skirt I decided to cut them off first and baste the top to the batting. When I get home I need to remember to stay stitch the edge so none of the hand stitching comes undone.

With the help of my Quality Control Officer, I then basted the top/batting to the backing, not basting near the edge that was short.

Not spray basting near the short edge allowed me to use my machine to add on a 4" strip and get it finished up right quick. It still doesn't lay 100% flat but I know that quilting will work out part of it and cutting this to become a tree skirt will work out the rest. It's been suggested that I don't cut this for a tree skirt, leaving it as a table topper, but with it not lying flat I'll be happier if it becomes the tree skirt.

 Zorro then decided to try out the skirt in preparation for it's first use in December. Just 259 days till Christmas but only 235 days till the tree goes up! Can you tell how excited he is?

This has now been set aside until after I finish some end-of-April deadlines. When I do get back to it, I'll be doing some simple straight line stitching that follows the "starburst" or "fireworks" outlines of the various colors.

Oops - Changed my mind - there are so many pictures for the other project that I'm saving it for tomorrow. Something to look forward to, eh?

3 days in the Quilt Lab

It was a lovely 3 day weekend at my house filled with all kinds of sewing and quilting.

Friday was spent watching DVDs and finishing the tree skirt. It doesn't quite lay flat so I'm going to go at it with some starch and a steam iron before I sandwich this coming weekend.

Saturday was mostly about making progress on Bonnie's Mackinac design.

First I finished 50 of 120 tri-recs. They still need to be sliver trimmed but I think they are pretty close. You can see from the note card that I decided how many blocks I wanted in the finished quilt and then counted out how many "parts" I needed so that the process was more like one of Bonnie's mystery quilts: I needed 30 square in squares, 120 tri-recs, 480 HSTs.

My assistant had to be bribed with a chair next to my chair so I could sit at the sewing machine.

Next up was 30 square in square blocks. Had I re-read the directions properly I would have gotten them done faster AND I could have used the fabric strips I had set aside for this project a month ago.

I cut the center square 1/4" too big but didn't realize until after I had 2 opposite triangles sewn on and the dog ears trimmed. I un-stitched one triangle and trimmed down 3 sides of the center then put the triangles back on. But then they also had to be trimmed down to the right finished size. There was a lot of trimming down, partly my fault but partly the design of the block. Life would have been easier if I had been able to find that out-of-production square in a square ruler that Bonnie used...I'm still looking!

Eventually they were all done!
Now all that's left is 155 more HST that will be sewn into "4patches". The strips are cut so I just need to cut them with the easy angle and start sewing.

The sewing included making a tie for my nephew's birthday last weekend. I think he liked it but it was hard to be excited about a tie when the Easter Bunny had gifted huge baskets of toys and candy.

Finally needing some more handwork for TV time, I pulled out Mickey's on the road project to work on adding sashing to some of the finished rosettes. It's monotonous work but needs to be done so I can lay it all out and figure out how many more rosettes to make during my upcoming conferences and camping trip.

And with that the weekend was over. Is it naptime yet?