A Quilting Project I Have Wanted To Do For A Long Time

Many years ago I borrowed a bunch of quilting books from the library, one I particularly liked, and borrowed it numerous times just to enjoy the pictures of the quilts. nOe quilt I absolutely loved and knew that I wanted to make it, but the time never seemed right to do so. Because I borrowed the book frequently from the library I ended up purchasing my own copy about ten years ago. 

This past Saturday I took the book out and looked at my favorite quilt pattern again and decided to go for it. I took a few pictures with my phone so I could review colors and know how much of each color to purchase and off I went to Joann Fabrics. 

 

Sometimes it seems the stars are in alignment, I found exactly the colors I wanted for the quilt and after spending some time waiting in line at the cutting table, then waiting in line at the check out, I was home with fabric for the quilt I have always dreamed of making. 

Today I will begin to cut the fabric for the blocks and I am excited to begin the assembly process, this quilt will be a joy to work on. I hope my husband doesn't feel abandoned if it begins to seem that I never leave my sewing room.

My long-suffering hubby :)

Grandchild update:

I love this picture of our son Matt with his daughter Alivia and nephew Masen

And, five of our grandsons in their new masks. I made the masks in Florida with my Mom, but waited until I got home to put the elastic on. Each mask is made from left over fabric from shirts that Mom has made for Dad. Little grandson Ralph was quite adamant that he did NOT want a mask.

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting

Me with my dear parents, Mumpy and Plumpy

While visiting my parents recently my mom got me knitting again! Mom has recently got into knitting socks for herself and Dad.

Mom knitting a sock for my dad

We took a trip to Joann Fabrics in Tavares, FL and mom purchased more sock yarn and told me to pick a color I liked, so I did.

cuff coming along nicely, but the needles are too small

Mom purchased several colors of sock yarn, she sent me 

home with more yarn, I started a second pair of socks this week using the gray, red, blue, brown yarn. 

We returned home and some serious knitting began. The double pointed needles my mom gave me to use we decided were too small, 2.75 mm, after I had knitted several inches of sock cuff. So mom ordered more needles, they arrived the next day. I started my sock again on 3.25 mm needles, perfect! 

second start on 3.25 mm needles

I knitted away for two evenings, down the cuff, turned the heel and proceeded to knit the foot of the sock.  I picked up my knitting a little bit before lunch one day and finished knitting to the toe, I put the knitting down ready to finish the sock after lunch. Imagine my horror when I came back to my knitting only to find that Mr. Wolfti had enjoyed the bamboo double pointed knitting needles for his lunch! Most of the sock was still intact but the needles were pretty much non-existent. Thank goodness for my Mom, she took over, undid several rows of knitting, picked back up and sorted the stitches out on the three needles and handed back to me to finish. This pair of socks will always have a fun memory associated with them of naughty Mr. Wolfti and Mom coming to the rescue.

A contrite Mr. Wolfti

All is forgiven Mr. Wolfti

 I am thankful to say that the mate to this sock, knitted when I returned home, did not have such an adventure in it's making. These socks will always be special to me.

 Grandchild update: Can you believe it, grandson Harrison is walking, he was just ten months old on July 6, he is growing up way too fast. Such a cutie pie, he is so adored by his sisters and cousins.

Our youngest grandson Harrison walking to our eldest grandson Henry

A Little Bit Of Quilting

I recently returned from a ten day visit with my parents. My mom loves to quilt, she will be eighty-one next month, and she discovered the joys of quilting about six years ago and is so creative and such a perfectionist everything she makes is beautifully done. Mom's sewing room is a quilters paradise, and she has a STASH of fabric that is amazing. 

Me with my precious, precious Mom (Mumpy)

Whenever I visit I always come home with something from the sewing room as I share my mom's love of quilting and knitting. This visit I came home with seven 6.5" crazy quilt blocks each with a lion, panther, or tiger as a centerpiece. 

I laid the blocks out on the table in my sewing room and played around with the placement. I then went through my rather pathetic stash of fabric to see what would work with the blocks, I had a few colors that I thought would work well. Throughout the week I looked at the blocks and played around with ideas. Yesterday I felt inspired and took a trip to Joann Fabrics, I selected fabrics for a quilt I have always wanted to make, and found some fat quarters in complimentary colors for the big cat crazy quilt blocks.

I still only had a vague idea of what I was going to do with the blocks, first I had to make two more crazy blocks. Once the two additional blocks were made I played around with colors to decide how to border them, I really liked the dark turquoise blue but only had a little of it left, it was just enough to sash the blocks together, but not enough to do the outer border. I put the dark turquoise on the blocks and joined them together. I then could not decide what color to border them with, and then in a moment of inspiration decided to use all of the left over colors to make a "postage stamp" border. I am so pleased with how bright and cheerful this little quilt project turned out.

And no post would be complete without a grandchild update: Grandson Masen was five years old on July 11, here he is waiting patiently for his mom to light the candles on his cake so the singing of Happy Birthday can commence. 

My Beautiful Sister

On June 25, 2020 my youngest sister, Marika, died, she was only forty-eight. It still seems very unreal, she was always so full of life, so busy, always on an adventure, she was generous, she was loving, she was funny, she was happy, she was a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and she was loved by all of us.

My sister, I believe, knew that she was not going to have a long life, and she lived her life making the most of each and every day she was given. In the past three years she wrote a book, started a dog rescue after adopting her best friend Stella, Incredibull Stella, took ballroom dancing lessons, she and her family were on an episode of a house hunter type program on HGTV, she was responsible for rescuing countless dogs, fostering dogs, and re-homing dogs. My sister has inspired so many people, touched so many lives, human and doggy, and has left her mark on the world.

How we wish cancer had never entered her life and how we wish she was still here with us. 

May my dear sister rest in peace.

Marika

January 29, 1972 - June 25, 2020

1972

High School Graduation

Marika with Stella

Available on Amazon

Marika with her husband Brian and daughters Carly and Caitie

From left to right, my sister Michelle, me, and Marika

Marika 1974ish