Another Smokey Summer

Which is just perfect for sewing.  Can’t go out? Sew! Go to the condo gym or pool! Bake!  I just baked a Muslin navy bean pie.  It’s not bad!  My July dozen for Sew Powerful are all set to be mailed along with the June purses.  And I’ve even made a small dent in August’s purses. 

My sister returned to me a quilt I made for her husband’s ENT practice in St. Joe.  There was an atrium sort of space, and this tall piece (96” x 48”) hung there.  I’m not quite sure what to do with this piece - I love it,  maybe cut it up and  make tote bags? 

A few months ago I was working on granddaughter Nikki’s baby quilt - little Charlotte Rose was born July 15.  She and her mom are doing well.  We hope to meet her this weekend!  As I started Charlotte’s quilt, I realized, as I was cutting out the clamshells, that some of the colors were not right.  So I jettisoned those and found fabrics that more accurately reflected what Nikki wanted for the nursery.  But meanwhile I had all these bits cut out.  So for the last weeks  I’ve hand pieced these leftover clamshells and then quilted the piece.  It’s complete and very pretty.  Nikki might be getting this one, too!   

What’s on my mind all the time is my SIL Chris in Orlando.  She’s taking care of her husband, who has Lewy Body Syndrome, and is doing such a terrific job.  It’s hard to imagine walking in someone else’s shoes…  I’m not sure I could give John the same level of support that Chris is giving to Jerry.  So when Chris mentioned she could use new mug and plate cozies, I sprang into action - these went into UPS this morning.  Think I’ll make myself some! 

An Ann Arbor Visit

 I hadn’t seen my sister for over 18 months.  We were heading there after Christmas - had a book to listen  to, the weather was good, had a hotel rez, and - Covid hit us.  In early July my nephew Chris and his two kids came up from Orlando.  So we decided to make the five hour drive to see my sister and her husband Dr. Den, both her kids, and all five of her grandkids.   Before we left, it dawned on me I should make things for these families.  Great nieces Margot and Eloise along with niece Jen and sister Paula all got run-around bags.  Great nephews Max, Charlie and Henry along with my nephews Chris and Tim and brother-in-law Den all got pencil cases.  

But then I got a present too. Last year Eloise, who is a sixth grader, finger-knitted a blanket.  And I was so impressed.  She learned from You Tube!  She has also learned how to make pillows.  Look how perfectly her puff pillows look on my sofa against a favorite quilt.  What a treat it is to have someone make something just for you! 

Summer has officially started!

 Before we left for our Great Lakes cruise in May, I made a list of what I needed to work on when we returned.  And I came home with a pretty bad cold and didn’t sew for several days.  But now I am happy to announce I finished what  I wanted and needed to work on.  First is the kangaroo/wallaby quilt for the third grandchild of Ed and Marge Dieball.  This grandchild was born in Australia, but now the whole family is living in Wisconsin.  Marge requested this quilt, and I was pretty happy to find this fabric.  It’s bright and cheery and just fun.

My sister in Ann Arbor has always been one of my supporters, and she’s been doing some serious doctoring this summer. The bag below is for her surgeon who did her blepharoplasty. I love this fabric so much, and this is the last of it, I think.  And there’s a small Run-Around which I’m delivering to John’s sister Monday morning.  She’s had a bizarre accident and will be in a rehab center for another month.

Here’s a table runner made from scraps of two quilt projects.  I love these fabrics and needed to do something to use up these gorgeous bits of fabric.  And one can never have too many table runners.  Amirite? 

And of course Junes dozen Sew Powerful purses.  These dotted fabrics are just so happy and cheery!

Below is student Agness from Lusaka, Zambia with a purse I made.  This picture?  It puts what I do in the  best perspective.  Time to work on July’s purses!

A Quilt Finds Its Owner

 My summer project of 2025 was hand quilting long strips of fabrics.  I love grunge fabrics so I cut 8.5”  by WOF and batted and backed them.  And then I hand quilted these strips. 

Not a clue of what I would do with them.  But eventually these strips, after a lot of playing around, became this…

I used low volume neutrals for the back of these strips, and this backing?  I love it.  It’s just a favorite look. 

But now what to do with this quilt. It, like several others, adorns the quilt ladders in the living room.  

A bizarre set of coincidences happened last year.  An upstairs neighbor turned out to have a connection with John’s sister.  Chris taught at Hinsdale Central for years, and this neighbor Carol was not only a theatre parent, her son now teaches at a Hinsdale and took over the drama program.  It was fun to make that connection.  But then a second coincidence happened. Carol was widowed at the beginning of the pandemic.  She later dated a lovely guy from Arlington Heights.  And they are still going strong.  Last year Bob’s brother Bruce came into town for a visit.  Bruce?  He was a teaching mate and best bud of John’s at Farragut HS.  When I first got to Farragut in 1974, Bruce was my desk partner.  And he mentored me as I took over the yearbook when Bruce left. So now, 50 years later, we get to see Bruce again. Amazing.

Bruce just visited his brother Bob and stopped at our place briefly.  I offered him a quilt.  He looked at a couple, but his eyes really stopped on this colorful one.  I love it when a quilt finds its owner.  Today I put a label on this quilt and will now mail it to Bruce. Pictures below?  Just more process pics.  

 

Long time no posts! Lots of pictures here.

 My life’s rhythm is changing, and not for any specific reason.  Sure, John was the hospital for five days right after Easter (he’s fine) and I had a big fall (I’m fine also, nothing broke, but I am sad  there isn’t a best bruise contest).  I’m busy sewing.  A lot.  Usually I remember to take pictures, but not always.  So it goes.  

This lone purse was sent into Sew Powerful.  It is on its way to Zambia, and the young lady who gets this will have her picture taken, and I will get a copy of this photo!  Of course I’m eager to see this! 

John’s hospital experience at Good Samaritan in Downers Grove was a positive one.  I made a couple of zip pouches for the nurses and aids.  These are the ones I remember to photograph. 

I panicked a bit when John was in the hospital because I had a project with a deadline - granddaughter Nikki’s baby quilt for her shower in early May.  This bag, not a diaper bag, was the wrapping for the quilt.  

And of course the dozen May purses for Sew Powerful.  Knowing my time would be limited in May and June, in April I made kits, complete with straps.  These are for May. 

During the cold months I made this Trip Around the World, simply because I like these fabrics - I don’t often work with greens.  And it is the last big hand finish until the fall.  It has a wonderful texture, and like most of my quilts, it doesn’t yet have an owner.  I had to put this aside while I was working on Nikki’s quilt.  But now it is complete. 

My sister Paula and my sister-in-law Chris feed into my need to make bags.  The blue floral is for Chris’s caretaker, who is very good with her husband Jerry.  The bag beneath is for Paula’s doctor who did her blepharoplasty.  And I am all about rewarding those who care for us! 

And now for something completely different: a quilt with kangaroos and wallabys. Friends Ed and Marge have a daughter who married an Australian.  This quilt is for Charlotte, the youngest of their three.  This is a fun project with a June deadline.  

And here is where the majority of my time and energy went during April.  Nikki has planned her nursery in very soft muted shakes of subdued pinks and greens.  Her furniture has some scallops, and this Glam Clam design is pretty perfect.  I tried to keep the top of the  quilt scalloped but didn’t quite succeed. The wool batting made this a dream to hand quilt.  And I was happy to give her this quilt last Sunday.  Her baby comes in July.  

As I was working out in the studio today, I kept having to stop and organize my tasks for the rest of this month and for June.  We are travelling the last two weeks of May to celebrate our 44th anniversary!  

Soft and Stable

 Soft and Stable is a foam interfacing that allows bags to retain their shape and stand up straight. It’s not cheap.  When I have some - and I just ordered two big pieces - I begin to search through my bag patterns and my fabrics.  I located Noodlehead’s Super Tote pattern and a feature fabric that Holly got for me at QuiltCon a year ago.  And I love the result. 

Five Weeks of Quilting - in pictures!

Seriously, pictures - in no particular order…

Here’s are February’s Sew Powerful purses

After working on sewing a jacket, its results still to be determined, I had to go to

my safe space, a Trip Around the World.

This is from the leftovers of the quilt below.  Waiting for hand quilting. 

This quilt wasn’t a quilt, but recreated by carefully finding the fabrics and 

ponying up for the pattern.  

Foundation-pieced blocks from the leftovers of these two quilts. 

Six more purses - flaps of friendship

                       The next four pictures are reverse progress ones.  First you see a bag. 

                               Now you see what’s in the bag - shoes, book, iPad, water bottle…

                           Here’s the bag empty.  Notice there is a strap held in place by loops

                       And here is the beg’s outside, empty, pretty blah…. A fun and useful project! 

                                                                    March’s 12 purses

                                  Two blocks for a bee mate - curves are challenging for me. 

                                            Plotting my thread color for my newest Trip

And an off-center spiral has begun! 

                                  That’s  it.  The end.  

My Evolving Bedroom

 Years ago, maybe 2013, quilt sisters Holly and Sarah turned me on to Marcia Derse and her fabrics.  Three in particular caught my eye,and I made a bed quilt that I had long armed.  I used a big block design and have loved the result.  It has been washed over 50 times at least and perhaps could use new binding.  But it remains a favorite.

But the need for change occasionally strikes.  This all black and white quilt was a fun experiment, and I also had this one long armed.  I’ve used this for maybe three years, and it’s been washed maybe 20 times. 

But here’s the latest bed quilt.   Finished the top in the fall and had to wait until the temps dropped before I started to hand quit this one.  This was my December-January project.  And it’s on this quilt that I learned how to be an ambidextrous hand quilter.  

I love my quilts, and I love sleeping under them.  Luckily, so does John.