Just in time for Pumpkin Season

I bought a kit with this pattern while shop-hopping with friends in August and I thought I'd get it made because it's pumpkin season!

The Villa Rosa patterns are easy to use and if I was one to pay attention, this would have been quick and easy to cut out and put together. But... I got out a large 12 1/2" square ruler and promptly made the first cuts into the fat quarters- 10 1/2" by 12 1/2". Oops! Of course there wasn't enough fabric to cut the right size (10 1/2" by 14") so I re-wrote the pattern.

I decided to make a few other changes along the way so I'll say my runner was inspired by this pattern. Someday, maybe I'll make the original (a day when I'm paying attention!). My pumpkins are all different sizes than the original and the corners are rounded.

I quilted this, using Glide #10430 Battleship Gray thread, on the longarm using stippling in the background and figure eights on the green stems. Each of the pumpkins is quilted differently - spirals, a large continuous flower, ocean waves, paisley, and double loops with an echo. 

I used leftover strips and some orange fabric from my stash on the back of this 42 1/2" by 14" runner.

The design wall has this on it today. It's an experiment, just something I've seen and wanted to try, and I think the quilt will be interesting. I don't have to pay attention to a pattern so that helps!

Hope you enjoy the weekend!

Table Runners Done!

A while back, we decided we needed new table runners for our family room which has a behind the sofa table and four side/end tables. Two of the smaller tables only needed one runner while the others each needed two. That meant I needed to make/replace 8 table runners. 

Ray requested somewhat neutral colors and I went through my stash and shopped for ideas for months.  I finally decided on pale blue and browns batiks with cream colored cottons, mostly from scraps in my stash.

While we were living in Madison this summer, I worked on designing the different mats and also possible ways to quilt them.  

First  is the sofa table mat, quilted with Linen #10WG1 Glide thread in straight lines.

The bottom mat for the sofa table  is shown on the top of the table. It is quilted with meandering using Light Tan #24655 Glide thread. In hindsight, I wish I would have used a lighter colored thread but I wasn't going to rip all the quilting out!

The rest of the mats are quilted with Light Tan #24655 thread. The two mats for the smaller table tops are shown on oak but they'll actually be on darker wood tables. Both are made with HSTs (half square triangles). I used a Plover grid design on the first and an apple core design on the second.

The next four mats are interchangeable among the tops and bottoms of two oak tables. The courthouse steps mat is quilted with straight lines and small circles in the dark brown corner squares.

I found a very old pattern that used a simplified Celtic design and decided to use it with a variety of small squares. This is quilted with a wavy grid design.

The last two mats are made mostly with strips and the leftover HSTs from the HST mats. The second one also has a few small leftover pieces near the left end. These are both quilted with a variety of motifs.

All of the table mats are backed and bound with a light brown cotton.

A very bright quilt appeared on the design wall recently as I finished a quarter square triangle top.

This turquoise triangle quilt top is also finished.

Recently, we went to a local orchard on a gorgeous day. We've been enjoying lots of apples, cider, donuts, and more!

Life is pretty good here. Although not actually normal, it's much better than it has been and we're hoping it keeps getting better! 

Another Potato Chip Quilt

We've been home for almost two months and I've stayed busy. Lots of produce has been frozen and dehydrated. I just finished 5 large batches of applesauce, some apple crisp, and apple bars for the freezer. Now I'm  looking forward to getting more apples for slicing and freezing/drying and then the freezers will be full!

Ray is doing well. He has more energy and is riding his bike again; he is getting close to his goal of riding 14 miles a day. We both gets a good amount of rest each day and are enjoying a more normal life.

I have found time to do some quilting and have a finish. The Potato Chip Quilt is just one large block. I think this is the last bundle of fabric that I have from my late friend Colleen. It was a fat quarter bundle and I didn't have anything in my stash to go with it so I tried to use large pieces to get the largest quilt possible.

This donation quilt is 57" by 58". 

Using Glide #30281 Blueberry thread on my long arm, I quilted this with a Square Fishbone motif - I marked the design and used rulers.

The back and binding are a navy fabric from my stash. I also used the leftover pieces of fabric on the back.

I have a variety of projects in progress including another potato chip quilt using bright scraps. Here is a peek:

For some reason, I have lots of table runners in the works. Here are a few:

This flannel quilt is actually on the long arm frame now.

More finishes are coming. The pile of projects that need binding hand stitched is larger than I ever remember. 

A Walk at Rutherford Refuge

Things are going well here and we are staying busy. One of these days I'll have some quilt finishes. In the meantime, I'll share a post that I forgot to post at the end of July. 

One morning, in late July, we decided  to walk in a relatively new Conservation Area which is very close to us. Rutherford Refuge was dedicated in 2021.

This is what we saw as we pulled into the parking area.

The trail was just to the right as we pulled in and it was nicely mowed one.

We found a few wildflowers.

We could see clear Creek Creek and later would cross it.

I love the way this weed had feelers attached to other weeds.

  

The walk was up and down hills but also level in some spots. We were glad we wore hiking boots.

Our first visit was short; next time we will explore more.   We look forward to a pretty hike in the fall.

Hockey Bonus Quilt

I had enough fabric left from the Chicago Blackhawks hockey quilt to make another quilt. I also had some large letters left so I used almost all of the extras to made the Hockey Bonus Quilt. 

I quilted this 72" by 82" quilt with a double loop using Glide #70187 Ruby thread on the top and #BLK3 Shadow thread on the back.

The backing fabric is Plaster of Paris by Stephanie Brandenburg of Frond Design Studios and Northcott. 

I finished this while we were living in Madison and it now resides with the original hockey quilt.

In other news: The day we moved home from Madison, we found that a huge part of a neighbor's walnut tree had fallen in our backyard during a storm the previous night. Huge meaning over 60 feet long and bigger than I can put my arms around. Some of the branches brushed our garage but did not do damage. Most of it was cleared that day by the owner of the tree, the neighbor across the street, and one of our grandsons who was here helping us move home. The damage for us wasn't bad - we lost a 30' maple tree that the walnut tree broke off (the maple wasn't in great shape before the storm) and there was damage to some of Ray's gardens (he had planned to redo one of them next year). The three guys also cut down our maple tree and cleared it away.

We both are enjoying being home.

Ray is slowly regaining some energy. We walk everyday and Ray stays busy with various tasks as his energy allows.  Our neighbors' 14-year-old grandson is mowing our lawn and also helps Ray with the weeding and other yard chores like cleaning up gardens. We pay the young man although he says he doesn't want money, and we give him cookies which he definitely wants!

I am doing a little quilting and stay quite busy with summer produce, normal chores, and baking cookies.

Our Madison Vacation

Ray kept telling people we were vacationing in Madison, Wisconsin this summer. We knew we would be in Madison five days a week for his weeks of radiation treatments at University Hospital, the closest facility with the technology to treat him. The first week we drove every day and were exhausted. The second week we spent most of the week at a motel. One beautiful morning we took a hike towards Picnic Point, just north of the hospital. Due to a detour in the trail and Ray being tired, we didn't make it all the way.

At the beginning of week 3, we moved to an AirBnb long-term rental apartment. We were a block away from Lake Monona. Our street was very narrow, about the size of an alley. There were no sidewalks and very little traffic. We were located a few houses down on the left.

Looking at our street with Lake Monona just behind me.  

Our house - we had the entire 2nd floor and our entry was the front door.

Our balcony, back stairs, and yard. Also entrances to two lower apartments.

We took walks as much as possible. Here are a few pictures of our neighborhood. 

Lake Monona

Columbine

A colorful mural

Wisteria - oh what a heavenly smell!

Hammock bases

Yard art

Milkweed in bloom with a butterfly

Rowing Club practice

Bike path along Monona Lake

Blooming cactus in our neighbor's yard

Columbine

Capitol from pedestrian bridge over Washington Ave., Madison

The Weed Harvesters were interesting to watch as they 'mowed' the bay and off-loaded their haul. Each harvester was about 8' by 40'.  You can read about them here.

Weed Harvester on Brittingham Bay, Lake Monona, Madison, WI

 Moving one of three Weed Harvesters from our bay to another location.

Team Survivors, women cancer survivors, meet most Wednesday nights and take out their dragon boat. It was interesting to watch the 20+ women of varying ages, working and rowing together.

Team Survivors launching their dragon boat

We did leave our neighborhood for more than the hospital and groceries. One day we enjoyed a short visit to the zoo.

A short but fun visit to the zoo after 35 - 40 years!

We spent a little time at Olbrich Gardens.

One morning, we went just north of University Hospital to Eagle Heights Community Gardens. There are over 500 plots!

The raspberries looked soooo good!

How do you take a good picture of 500+ garden plots???

We met a lot of people in our neighborhood and in the hospital. People were friendly, kind, and caring. The hospital was an excellent choice as was our temporary home and neighborhood.

Ray's oncologist called his treatment "unique and complicated" because of the location of his cancer. Ray had to prepare for radiation each day. His prep really drained his energy and left him extremely tired and feeling weak and yucky, and he also had other side effects. His appointments ranged from 8 minutes  to almost 3 hours. This was not a fun time.

Our journey was so much easier because of some fantastic friends and family. All offered continuing support and more. Our close friends and neighbors across the street went above and beyond by jumping in and doing EVERYTHING that needed to be done at our house, inside and out, including the mowing, trimming, and weeding. We are still a little overwhelmed by the help given to us.

Maybe all of this is so touching because we were given a piece of advice early on by Dr. E-B, an oncologist at SSM Monroe. "You have cancer; you have no control." I can't count the number of times we repeated that line. It was/is so very true: when treatment didn't go well, when we got Ray's appointments for the following week and one was at 7:30AM, the way Ray felt from hour to hour, when his treatment room was running behind schedule, when we drove to treatment during a tornado warning, when he had diet changes weekly, when he rested most hours of the day over and over, when they couldn't do the treatment and it added another day to his schedule, etc. Everything became so much easier when we accepted that we really didn't have any control.

Watching Ray reminded me of how strong he is. He didn't complain; he just endured. He epitomized: "Sometimes you can because you can. Sometimes you can because you have to."

We celebrated successes with ice cream or doughnuts. When he felt well enough, we took walks, went shopping at a store, went out to lunch, went to a farmer's market...

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass;

it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Watching him feel so rotten and having absolutely no energy was by far the hardest part for me. This cancer journey is not over but the radiation is and we celebrate that. Ringing the bell was a highlight!

I ring the bell to celebrate! My treatment here is done...
Cancer does not define me And I'm already moving on.

Ray's shirt:
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY
TO HAVE A GOOD DAY

Most of the side effects from Ray's radiation should disappear within a few weeks. He still has some additional treatment ahead and in about a year, we'll know if it all worked. In the meantime, we are happy to be home and we plan to "dance in the rain".