Are You Stitching?

My stitching right now is short snatches of time because my focus is supposed to be on redecorating -- at least that's what I said at the beginning of February, but I've managed to drag it out into April???

One of the challenges of retirement and ageing seems to be accepting the slower pace dictated by age related changes and a lack of deadlines in my case.

This lap quilt has been on my design wall for two weeks just the way I brought it home from my charity quilt work session.  Nothing has happened.

I did finish the EPP tile from @sharksdinner -- that's it on the right.

Of course with me, there's another reason for my dawdling pace.

Birds!

Spring migration is building in this area.  Ducks have moved through and now we are waiting for shorebirds.

My April birding goal is to see a "first of the year" bird everyday -- so 30 new birds!

First 10 days -- 10 birds -- on track.

Then this morning, in 3 hours I saw 8 new birds for the year -- including this lucky find near a local marsh -- a black-crowned night heron out in the open in the daytime??? 

I should be able to take a few days off, but I can't -- I might miss something!!!!

I might never come back inside!?!

More like I might wear myself out and have to sleep for a week.

I did finish my Mrs. Peach cushion.  

 After enduring several days of "how to quilt this" agony, I started with some simple straight lines.

My strategy is always that once engaged with the quilting, more ideas will flow into my fingers.

But they didn't this time, so I "let it go" and forged ahead to finish the cushion.  

It's a 24" pillow and to avoid those pokey corners, I rounded them -- looks better to me.  

I use a water glass to trace uniform corner curves, then trim before turning.

And we have a finish!!

I'll be leading a workshop using this pattern from Marge Sampson-George at the Gathering of Quilters in Berlin, Ohio the last weekend of August, 2019.  Stay tuned for more details.

(a little vacation from retirement?!)

It looks great with my wonky birds quilt.

There's a part of me whispering, "it looks so good, you should have made it bigger - a quilt!" and my new "retired" whisperer is saying "no, this is perfect -- got a taste of the challenge, finished it and now you can do something else on that long list!!" 

So I did!  This is a pile of corner trimmings from the Posy Patch Quilt I tested for @sterlingsewn -- use them, throw them away???

Then up popped this sweet Carrot Top block from @thesewingloft two weeks ago!

You can find it along with some other very cute, simple blocks HERE.

Just needed a trim and we are ready to go!

I'm not starting a big project -- I just want to play around with this cute block!

A handful of oranges from my amazing stash and I was off and running. 

The intention was to make two potholders to donate to a local fundraiser, but I cut more strips than needed and happily had just the right number of HST's to make four. 

Then I got a text about a surprise "birthday card shower" and it was quicker to finish one of the carrots into a mug rug than to go buy a card! 

So now, not only will there be two potholders to donate, but there will be three mug rugs for spontaneous little gifts.

It's so hard to resist all the wonderful new ideas and patterns that pop up every day in the cyber quilting world, don't you agree?  So adapting to small projects is a good way for me to enjoy the new trends and support the maker/designers pattern sales!  I still can't try all of the "new" but I can play with more of them by making smaller pieces.  Wish we had thought of minis and mug rugs and pouches years ago -- maybe I wouldn't have so many UFO's staring at me from my shelves!?!

I'm off for a weekend of wildflower trekking in Southwestern Ohio -- this section of my library is coming along for support!

I'll relax in the evenings with new friends and finish knitting little caps for the triplets -- only two and half months before I get to meet my newest grandchildren!!

Enjoy your weekend as the seasons change -- spring for some of us and fall for the rest!!

Mary