Hi all! I feel like I have to ask how everyone is doing every time I speak to someone now, so-- how are you all doing? I am feeling better than I have since March. Not only have I been out a few times and seen some lovely friends and picked out my own produce for once, but all this time I've also been teaching a summer class, which is now done. Done! I turned in the grades today and I am so remarkably happy. It's been a long haul, and now I get a (somewhat shorter) summer vacation. Except for the fact that a few weeks ago we cancelled our vacation because of this stupid virus, so. . .
I'm not letting that get me down, though. I have six weeks to work on things at my own pace, so of course the first thing I did was go down to the sewing room and start cleaning up. That place was a wreck. And how is it possible that I have not yet finished unpacking? I still have some things in boxes in the sewing room, so I started emptying those. I found some great stuff in there that I almost forgot about. Which of course distracted me from cleaning up, so, yep, still a wreck.
I found several small pieces that need quilting, including this one:
This is a free pieced version of Joan of Arc chapel at Marquette, which has a great deal of meaning to me. I made this a while ago and I can't believe I haven't quilted it yet. Clearly, I am behind. So of course I pulled it out and pressed it and basted it right away. I am apparently sometimes good at leaving myself notes, because I had a quilting plan sketched out and stored with the top. Yay me! I'll be working on this very carefully over the next couple of weeks. Now that I've found it, I really want to finish it and hang it up.
I also found the other free-pieced churches that I've made, but that's a post for another time. . .
Also basted was this little piece, which strikes me as quite cheerful:
He never got quilted, either, but-- wonder of wonders-- there were also quilting notes with him. So that's really my next quilting project. It's a small enough piece that I can finish it off myself, maybe even with some free motion quilting? I'll never know until I try!
Speaking of quilting. . .I had lunch this week with a very nice person named Lisa who not only made me a great mask (and later sent me instructions to make my own), but also clued me in to a place not far from here to rent time on a long arm. I had tried to do this before we moved, but that got cancelled and I never rescheduled. So you can be sure I'll be trying that out as soon as I can! (Thanks Lisa!)
The only other things that I've done this week is start on some RSC projects:
Dark blue is the color of the month, and these scraps are destined to become a blue scrap basket. Blue is not my color, and I don't have a lot of it, so I hope I can eke out enough blue scraps for the basket.
Not very interesting, but that's what's going on around here! For those of you who are alarmed, I am still mostly staying at home, and when I'm out I am definitely following all the social distancing protocols, including masks and lots of hand sanitizer. Lisa and I had lunch outside, even though it was in the 90s, and it was warm but lovely. We haven't beaten this virus, and my heart goes out to those of you who live in areas where it's exploding. Please, please do what you can to keep yourself and your neighbors safe. We've lost enough people!
Sharing at Midweek Makers
13 comments:
I'm glad you've been able to meet with friends, it makes life a bit easier during all this and is doable with a little thinking and planning. I have a friend coming over on Friday. We will sit out on my deck, she doesn't have to come in my house, and will bring her own coffee. There is plenty of space to sit 6 ft apart, and it will be good to visit face to face. How fun that you found the church project; I look forward to seeing how you quilt it. The other little fella peeking in the window is fun too, and good for a smile, which is so needed these days. And yay for finishing the class! Woohoo!
Fun to find little surprises that you have forgotten about isn't it! You'll get around to the unpacking in time. I have had a couple of porch visits with friends, think it is time for another soon! Take care and be safe.
I'm glad that you live in an area where you feel you can meet friends safely and that you have a place to meet. I don't really have any place to meet anyone here although we have porch visits with our daughter and any family that drops by - but I don't have many near me
Unpacking long forgotten boxes is like Christmas in July. My sewing room is a wreck as well, and I can't seem to get motivated to clean it up. I just keep sewing instead.
You have some great pieces to quilt! Have fun!
How fun to uncover older projects that you feel ready to work on again! I remember your free pieced chapel - it's going to make a beautiful finish. Enjoy your 6 weeks of freedom!
Past Mari kept good notes, it seems! I'm so glad you found some fun projects to dive right into now that your teaching is finished :)
So happy to see the free pieced chapel again - have fun with the quilting!! (and we are doing fine, our area is not doing so well with the case counts climbing between 200-300 per day).
Oh that pieced chapel will be a lovely finish. I understand why you would be extra anxious about choosing a suitable quilting pattern. You don't want anything taking away from the piecing.
It was me. It was my pleasure to meet Mari for lunch, show & tell and then some fabric shopping for good measure. It was hot and horrible and just perfect!!! I rediscovered a park with a pavilion near me where I can meet friends (one or two at a time) for picnics :-D So let me know when you want to come by next :-)
I remember the chapel mini. I am glad you pulled it out to finish. Don't remember the snowman but it is adorable. Looks like two finishes will be shared soon.
How nice to see another human in person. It is getting scary again. Numbers are going crazy around here and really throughout California. Yuk.
Enjoy your summer break Mari - even if at home. At least you can do what you want and not worry about work for a short while. :-)
How fun to find almost finished treasures! I am impressed with you leaving notes for yourself!
I didn’t realize you had a class going this summer. I’m glad you get a break now. My heart did a little leap when I saw your chapel top. It does need to be finished because it deserves a place on your wall. (And all your other church quilts, too. They are all too wonderful to be in storage, but I know how it goes.) Good for you having notes to follow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the snowman (polar bear?). That will be a fun project to work on in this heat.
Those summer classes can be intense. The SIT just finished up one of her 4 week classes, it was a lot more intense then she's had before. Glad you could get back to the sewing room. Moving projects along is cleaning up, so good for you on that front. Hope you get in some enjoyable and relaxing stitching time while you are out of school.
Post a Comment