Machine quilting and finishing some projects has carried me through the past couple weeks!  That is all good for sure!!  Last week, I finished my youngest grandson's "big bed" quilt -- major goal reached!! 

 I made this quilt during the #littlemisssawtoothquiltqal led by Melanie at @southerncharmquilts via Instagram.  I used a layer cake I had stashed with 1 1/2 yards of background fabric for the blocks.  I moved through this project pretty quickly, starting the blocks last September and finishing the quilting this week -- not even a year!?!

So this week, I've been working on a small charity quilt. Remember this "sashed 9-patch" block I shared with you in March?  (Here's the original post with my directions for piecing these scrappy little blocks -- it's at the end of that post.)

I pieced twelve of them and set them together with sashing to make a wheelchair laprobe and my charity quilting crew layered it at our July gathering (outside on the front porch, of course).

My current strategy is to alternate quilting one of my own pieces and then a quilt to donate.  The idea has worked well for me because the charity quilts are generally small and by keeping the quilting simple I've been moving through them quickly but this time, after ditch-stitching the sashing, I froze.

My quandary was how to keep the quilting simple while enhancing the piecing.  None of my straight line ideas were inspiring me to continue.  While I don't consciously assign design tasks to my subconscious, I'm glad it goes to work on my creative blocks anyway.   Between looking at the quilt everyday laying on the machine table and some Instagram scrolling, I was inspired to adapt a four-point star motif someone shared so it fit my blocks.  As I worked with chalk sketching the idea, I enhanced it with a pumpkin seed flower to fill up the central space of the block.  Thank you subconscious for the inspiration!!

Here is my chalk sketching of my idea.  I've understood that I'm a visual person for a long time and sketching on the real thing helps me make decisions more easily.  I use "chalk wheel" devices that lay a line of chalk which I can brush off if I don't like my lines.  My original idea was to bisect the center square with straight lines that connected to the inner V's of the star but when I couldn't figure out how to stitch that without back stitching previous lines or extras stop/starts, I experimented with the pumpkin seed flower which could be easily worked into the design with no back stitching and no extra stop/starts.  

So let me walk you through it!

I used minimal marking for each block -- these are the center lines to guide me from point to point.

I start at the upper left corner of the block, aligning my straight guide tool with the corner of the block and the first centering mark.

Once I reach the centering mark, I reposition my guide and stitch out to the lower left corner of the block.  The foot on my machine is a ruler foot designed for APQS machines to use with plexiglass guides.

I continue in that way until I reach this final centering line and am in position to begin the pumpkin seed flower which is a series of free motion arcs.  My goal for each line is to reach the center X in a smooth arc.

Here I am with just two more arcs to stitch and I'll be back at the starting point of the flower at which point I'll use the guide ruler to return to the corner where I started.  One continuous line!!

Finished!!  In about four minutes (which includes marking and tying off the thread ends) I'm ready to move to the next block.  With just twelve blocks in the quilt, I can get half the blocks quilted in under 30 minutes which tends to be my session limit at the quilting machine.  When I stick to my 30 minute work limit, I find it easier to avoid a cranky neck and shoulders!

Here's the progress so far -- I have six blocks left to quilt and then maybe a straight line down the middle of all the sashing and something in the border.  I could have this piece ready to bind by Monday!

Then I can layer up and work next week on a laprobe that I've selected from the "ready-to-quilt" shelf for a housewarming gift!

It's been a pleasant week -- my goal to get back into a regular walking routine is progressing.

I enjoyed two all day babysitting sessions with the triplets!  BLISS!!

I enjoyed a couple small social gatherings (with masks).

Perhaps most important, I decided to embrace a couple perks of the current isolation.

I'm noticing my almost-empty schedule has led me to pay more attention to details and have more patience when needed.  

For example, I've started putting things away when I'm done using them because I don't have to rushing on to something else so the house is tidier and I (almost) always know where stuff is?!?

That's all good!!

  I'm doing more advanced knitting projects but I'm making lots of mistakes in my projects (argghhh - lack of experience).  I still get in a snit but they are usually short and I can back-up, undo, and fix the mistake -- like the sock that I knit twice before I got it the right size.  It was worth it!!

So I hope that I can take these habits forward with me.

It might mean I won't be as "useful" to other people but they are just going to have to get their own act together, aren't they?

Mary, the efficient dependable multi-tasker has retired!!

(All of you who've had your "slow living" act together for a while are smiling.)

So let's go have a good week and if you've had a "light bulb" moment as a result of isolation, share it with us!!

Mary

And the beat goes on . . . . .

. . . . but of course, it's not our usual beat, is it?  

How are you coping?  

I don't have more people underfoot than normal and I'm still a retired teacher.  

Have you cleaned the entire house from top to bottom?  No, me either.  

Although I think I understand why it was so important for my mother to do this annually.  She did work full time outside our home after all of us were in school but prior to that the house (in the 1950's) was her world and it probably wasn't a fun place to be when everything was messy.  So she had a cleaning schedule which we all participated plus every spring, the entire house got a scrub down!  I'm doing deep cleaning chores that I haven't done for . . . . years???  But just one a day. 

She was right -- a clean, tidy house is a nicer place to be stuck.

(My office book shelf is now clean though not necessarily tidy, but it's all very important stuff!!)

As part of a workshop through my church this week (on-line), my pastor suggested "writing a lament" as a good way to vent anger and fear.  I know from past experience with depression that writing is a good strategy for me.  Plus several years ago, I participated in a little workshop on writing Haiku.  They have been a fun way for me to preserve little outdoor memories but Tuesday I used the technique to pen a lament.

Isolation sucks!!

Stuck at home with all my stuff --

wishing this over!

Fortunately, right after writing this, I opened my Bible and found myself looking at Psalm 71:19 to 21.  At some time in the past, I underlined a phrase in verse 20 . . . "you will restore my life again" . .

That's what I'm counting on today!!

Of course, I'm lucky to be "stuck with stuff" -- not everyone is that fortunate.So instead of whining about the inconveniences, I'm trying to embrace the slower pace and praying that we can all hold it together!

Last week I unloaded one half of my big cutting table and discovered how pleasant it is to have access to a large cutting area -- challenge is to keep it uncluttered.  As you can see, I'm making a few washable fabric masks every day.  I gifted some to friends in the medical field in case they need them and can use them.  All the varying opinions on these fabric masks has been very confusing to me but when I found a pattern from craftpassion.com that has a pocket one can slide a disposable mask into which will hopefully extend the life of a mask, I decided to give it a go.  Now I'm working my way through family members and close friends as the CDC seems to be leaning towards urging everyone to wear a mask when they are out in public as another line of defense.  

I've made a few more of those sashed 9-patch blocks which I shared with you a couple posts ago -- HERE's a quick link back to it if you missed it.

I've settled on blues, greens, and browns for my color palette for the main squares and anything goes for the sashing.  I'm going to make twelve blocks and see where things go.  My first thought about setting them with 2 1/2" strips for sashing might not be great and I'm also puzzled about what color that sashing might be???

No hurry -- I'll be here for rest of the month?!? 

I've also been puttering with this pattern which my long time student followers will recognize as my Mississippi Mud pattern (definitely the most popular pattern I ever taught or wrote).  I always said "never use lights" for the background of this quilt and all the stars have to be the same color.

So I'm experimenting with breaking those two rules of mine!!

I was thinking of doing a "sew-along" in April but there are so many bloggers and pattern designers trying to lure us into mystery quilts and sew-alongs right now that I've decided to hold back.

I've been quilting for 30 to 45 minutes every day for the past week on the kaleidoscope quilt I shared in last week's post and today, I'm starting the border -- wahoo!!!

My quilting time is limited by my back (it starts to whine when it's unhappy).

However, if I work for 30 minutes almost every day, by the end of a week, I've accomplished 2 to 3 1/2 hours of work which my back could never tolerate in one sitting.

I think two or three more sessions will get this quilt finished and I'm so excited!!!

It got me to thinking that perhaps instead of having a sew-along to start a new project, it would be more beneficial to challenge all of you to quilt for 30 minutes a day as often as you can for the month of April.  

Wouldn't it be fun to see how much we can accomplish?

I have this stack of quilts (backings included) to deal with -- some going back 15 years!?! 

Here is the shelf of charity quilt tops . . . . . 

. . . . plus a few more on the chair in the dining room!?!   Arrgghh!?!

So let's do this instead of starting something new!  

I challenge you to set a time limit that is good for you and try to maintain it daily.  Take before and after photos and keep a log of your daily progress.  I predict two things will happen -- first, you'll finish a UFO in less time than you might imagine and second, your quilting (machine or hand) skills will improve because you are doing it daily.

Pick a quilt top and layer it up (see my post HERE on how to do that by yourself on a table).  Then leave a comment below or post to your Instagram account (I'll only be able to see it if it's a public account) with the hashtag #Aprilquiltingmarathon and tag me @hueymary

If you are uncomfortable deciding about the quilting design/strategy for your top, I'll share photos on my Instagram account of some pieces using simple quilting strategies to inspire you!

If I could get a couple charity quilt tops finished and make lots of progress on one of my big UFO's, I'll be a happy quilter!!

Let's do this!!

Mary

Linking up this weekend with Whoop, Whoop
and Oh, Scrap