Still Kicking

Hello everyone!  No, I am not retiring my blog. This blog cannot retire before I do (haha) so that means I have to keep it up for about ten more years.

My quilt projects have been progressing. And I was able to work in a few new projects that finished quickly.

---I am still working the clues for Meadow Mist Design's Magnolia mystery quilt.  We finally are assembling the flower blocks. Can't wait for the next clue in early December!

---I am still working on Kevin-the-Quilter's Sapphire Stars mystery quilt. I got stuck cutting the big neutral triangles. Just need four more neutrals to finish those.  I have purchased three different neutral fabrics in the past month, so all is good now. Soon the blocks will start coming together and I can finally catch up to all those fast sewers who have already completed their flimsies.

---I entered my first quilt show!  No ribbon, but I didn't expect to win anything. Several of my friends received awards, though. There are some mighty talented quilters in my guild! The quilt show this weekend was awesome, and I was happy most of the ladies I invited were able to come and check out the beautiful quilts (and mine).

---I have been making pot holders!  Check out these two books by Chris Malone. It has been so fun to sew her cute designs.  If you try some of these, I have a couple tips.  First, read the directions carefully. You may need to layer the pieces in a different order than you think. (My seam ripper has been busy.)  Second, for patterns that will be seamed instead of bound, do not cut the shape until you have stitched it. I trace the pattern on tissue paper, layer the fabrics and battings, then stitch directly on the paper before cutting. 

And.... I took my airplane up for a quick flight before its scheduled annual maintenance. It was nice to get up in the air. I can't wait until flying again!

What have you been working on?

Hot Time in the City

Most of us bloggers tend to post less frequently in the summer because we are busy with so many other parts of our life. I am no exception. Six weeks have passed. Lots of cleaning, purging of old stuff, a bit of weight loss (yay), and planning for changes which will eventually show up on this blog.

My sewing projects continue to progress....

The red binding on "Allietare" - almost finished.

A couple of rows are assembled on "Colorado Sunshine".

"Marigold Field" is back from being longarmed and will soon be bound in orange.

I decided to remove blue triangles from "1860's Revival" and replace with large triangles spanning two blocks to cut down on thickness of seams converging. If that doesn't make sense, wait until the fall and I will post a picture.

Then I started a new project (gasp). Okay, it was simply an effort to use up some of the fabric scraps accumulating in a BIG box. And it was an easy, mindless activity. I have a nice pile of these string sections started. They will eventually build up into THIS quilt.

And life would not be complete without some FLYING. 

My husband and I flew in a historic Ford Tri-Motor. Very cool [and noisy]!

And we played around the air on cooler evenings, practicing takeoffs and landings as all pilots do.

Then I had a nasty bout of Lyme's from an infected tick bite. I have lived here nearly 20 years, working in my garden, hiking through the woods, trimming weeds around our country property and had never had anything like this happen. Luckily I saw a doctor right after the rash appeared. A few weeks of a heavy-duty antibiotic and I am as good as new. You can bet I spray on insect repellent every time I go outside. 

BEFORE

AFTER

And life goes on.....

Quilting and Living

To my 10 or so regular readers: thank you for hanging in there until I finally created a new post.  I have been living life and finding a few peaceful moments to continue quilting, just like normal.  But what *is* normal?  I found this blogpost here:

 I learned that there is no such thing normal.  Normal is an illusion.  It’s an idea we get in our heads about what our lives should look like influenced by society, the media, friends, family and a million other things.  Searching for normal is denial of and resistance to whatever is happening right here and now which results in struggle and pain.  Wherever I am in my life and whatever is happening IS normal whether it’s what I wanted or expected or not.

My daughter is home from college, but without the satisfaction of having completed her freshman year.  She has no plan at the moment other than to find a job so she can have the near instant gratification of money to spend.  We have also adopted another 19-year-old daughter, a good friend of my original daughter who needed a place to stay for a couple weeks.  Now for the summer.

We have some big decisions to make next week about our lives, our careers, our home. There are many factors to weigh.  I have a Pluses and Minuses chart to help me wrap my head around what is important to my happiness, my family's well-being and our eventual retirement.  Change can be so scary. But not changing may be even riskier and that is scary, too. You'd think a female pilot would be the bravest person who can face any challenge with a victorious fist pump. Hah. Not my reality.

So what is normal?  Sharing a bit of our dilemma with my daughter with friends and finding unexpected solace.  Finding pockets of time to express my creativity with quilting. Picking up socks and shoes scattered around the house. Petting my cats and spoiling them with their morning canned food treat. Harvesting lettuce and asparagus from my garden.  Hugging my husband and daughter(s). Volunteering at the airport. Finding a rare moment to fly above all those earthbound struggles.  Understanding that others are struggling with issues in their own lives.

Okay. Now that I got that out.... Here is what I have been sewing lately.  "Allietare" is back from being longarm quilted, waiting for my latest fabric order to arrive so I can bind it.  Orange Crush - now named "Marigold Field" is a flimsy waiting for backing to arrive in said fabric order.

 "Colorado Sunshine" is only 7 blocks and one pieced border away from becoming an 8x10 flimsy, and its backing will also arrive in the fabric order.

This is how I can feel a sense of accomplishment. I'm continuing to work on my goals of reducing my UFOs (unfinished projects). I am enjoying my job responsibilities and helping my team fulfill our company's objectives. I am leading a flight scholarship committee which helps young people fulfill their own dreams of learning to fly. I am thankful for all the opportunities I have in life. I know challenges are part of a *normal* life.

From the same blog mentioned above:
I have come to appreciate all of life’s ups and downs and swerves and curves.  It’s all part of it, and it’s all normal.  I used to wish for a calm life with no surprises, but now think of how numb and boring that would be.  To live a rich, full life, I have to be willing to embrace, yes embrace, whatever comes my way and find the joy and meaning in it.  Without any little part of it, life wouldn’t be the multi-textured, colorful tapestry it is.  I’ll take that over normal any day.

'Til next post.... live, love and learn!

Another One in Queue

Yes, I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted. After remodeling a bathroom and painting a kitchen, I was finally able to sew a bit.  Today Allietare became a flimsy and was dropped off at my local longarmer.  The picture is a bit blurry because I had a hard time holding still, as I was so excited to see it almost finished. Bonnie Hunter designs some really beautiful quilts.

Mother Earth's binding was finished last week and is ready for gifting.

Orange Crush blocks are done and ready to assemble.I even have the perfect border fabric. Just need to keep looking for the right backing.

Next I will have to decide whether to tackle assembly of 1860's Revival or Blueberry Hill. Maybe a bit of both.  Then I can finish up the blocks for Colorado Sunshine.  Too bad Colorado isn't experiencing much sunshine today. They got 22 inches of snow last night and today. IN APRIL!  Thank goodness I am on the east coast where it is sunny and in the 60-70s.

In between work and house projects, I am watching the weather to see when I can fly again. Tomorrow is the next sweet spot. I'm looking forward to slipping the bonds of earth.

Orange Blossoms in a Row

While working on Bonnie Hunter's Clue 3 of Allietare, I also sewed a few more blocks on my Orange Blossom quilt (aka Orange Crush pattern).  I really, really like this in a straight set so that the blossoms stay in one piece.

It will need 15 more blocks for a 7x9 grid. I found the rest of the blue print for the whirly block centers, so we are all set to go!

As for Allietare, I did the math and figured we will need the equivalent of 12 width-of-fabric strips in neutral plus 12 in gold to make the four patches. Some of my fabrics are fat quarters so will estimate lengths. All the strips are sewn and now just need to be subcut. Easy peasey. HERE is Bonnie's linky party with others who are sewing this quilt.

On a higher note, last night we went to the annual Christmas party at the airport. I was assigned to make appetizers again, so out came the penguin army with olive-stuffed cheese balls and sausage balls, plus veggie rollups.  Recipe/instructions for the penguins is HERE.

Then today I took advantage of the low winds to practice stalls and turns. It was SO nice to get up in the air again!

Orange flowers and Allietare

In the early morn while my mind was free-flowing and not quite awake, I had an epiphany about my Orange Crush quilt mentioned in my previous post.  Rather than all those green squares, let's make the orange into a flower rather than a plus sign. After finally waking up and starting my day, I sewed a few sample blocks.

BEFORE

AFTER

Definitely better!  I got excited again and made even more:

This weekend Bonnie Hunter announced the colors of her new mystery quilt Allietare.  I should have just enough of the colors in my stash to make a 1/2 size quilt. After the big reveal I can decide to go shopping or just finish up.  In the meantime, gotta finish some gifts in between working on Orange Crush!

On a higher note, 90 Bravo is out of the maintenance shop and flying again!!! My hubby and flew down the Chesapeake to have lunch at a local airport diner. It was a beautiful fall day, cool and bright with fall foliage. This is a picture I borrowed but cannot seem to find the photographer to give proper credit. This looks like one of the roads near my house.

Orange is for Halloween

The pieced border for Mother Earth (see previous post) is done. It's not yet added to the too-short backing, but that will be easy to do tomorrow. To celebrate, I ....um....started another quilt. Yes, another quilt for my UFO list. I know, I know.

See if you can guess which pattern this is:

Remember all those 2" dark green squares I ripped apart from the too-dark sashing of Grand Illusion?  I finally found a use for them!  Furthermore, I am able to make this entire quilt from my stash!  This new quilt is a Sandy-altered version of Orange Crush, a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt from 2005. I found an example on the web (and now cannot find it again to give proper credit) where the crafter substituted light blue / dark blue for Bonnie's black/red squares and used one print for all the Friendship Star centers. It's a bright, cheery quilt that gets me all excited!

My family knows I am not crazy about the color orange. So why have I made so many quilts with orange?  Maybe because orange complements the greens and blues I do like.  Below are just a few I have made. The first one was a gift to my brother who does like orange.

Orange quilt #1 - Modern Chevron

Orange quilt #2 - Halloweenie

Orange quilt #3 - Broncos Crossroad

Orange quilt #4 - Celtic Solstice

It's amazing how many different orange, peach, gold, and dark rust prints I had in my stash. This is going to be fun!