Just catching up...

Ray wanted to shoot the Milky Way the other night and I went along. It was a beautiful moonless evening. My phone didn't do well with the Milky Way but I got a good picture of the Big Dipper.

After watching our youngest grandson's football game last week, we decided to return home via Beckman Mill near Oregon, Wisconsin. 

Beckman Mill

The mill is in a beautiful 50-acre county park - I think the land used to be the Beckman homestead. 

barn at Beckman Mill

dam at Beckman Mill

This past week was exciting for us.    

    * Ray saw the doctor for his last scheduled post op appointment. He is doing well and his restrictions (for the most part) are lifted! He has to return to living a normal life slowly but he is on his way.

    * I finished my meds for Lyme disease. I feel so much better. I thought the meds were dragging me down but it might have been the meds and the disease. 

    * And since we were in Madison for Ray's appointment, we delivered quilts to American Family Children's Hospital - 50 quilts! I love taking quilts there and this is the most I've ever taken at one time. 

I have finished 51 donation quilts this year. I have one left from last year and donated 2 quilts earlier, so that leaves 50 for the hospital. It was nice to deliver them before winter - we usually go in snow.

I've been trying to get some chores done. The three rooms in my studio have been cleaned along with all machines and irons. The serger still needs a new cutter. I have started  cleaning the dormer closet that houses my fabric. It's a big job and I'm about 2/3 done. The smaller drawers that house less than 1/4 yard pieces were overflowing so I rewarded myself and began 2 new quilts. 

There are 6 quilts waiting to be quilted here; four are donation quilts. And there are now four quilts in progress - a good number! Here is the newest one in progress.

It's feeling a lot like fall - a good time to quilt!

A few more donation quilts

I have finished a few more donation quilts:

Kaffe Rail 1 is made from a free 3 Yard Quilt Rail Fence pattern by SewCanShe.com. The blocks are cut 9.5" by 12.5".  It's a different take on a rail fence and goes together fast.  I had a left over Kaffe Fassett print and found a lighter and darker fabric to go with it. 

The lighter color is a soft green which shows much better in this photo:

I used a meandering stitch to quilt this.

The backing is grunge turquoise dot. 

Size:             56" X 61"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Lt Turquoise #32973
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Meandering

Kaffe Rail 2 is made using the same pattern with a change due to a shortage of fabric. This left over Kaffe Fassett print was less fabric, so I cut each of the patterned pieces one-inch narrower, meaning the cut blocks were each 8.5" by 11.5".

If you look close, you can see that each patterned piece is narrower than the other stripes in the block. I don't think it makes a difference in the overall appearance; it's just a design element.

This quilt uses the same light and dark fabrics as Kaffe Rail 1. You can see the light green better in the following photo.

I quilted this with a meander motif also. 

The backing is a turquoise fabric that I've used often and still have more.

Size:             49" X 56"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Lt Turquoise #32973
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Meandering

Sailboats and Water is one of my favorite donation quilts. The free pattern is Dream House 3 Yard Quilt Pattern by SewCanShe.com. I followed the pattern except for using one wide outer border instead of two narrow ones.

I bought the sailboat, water, and fish fabric a while back at Quilt Elements in Ashland, WI. I just added white Bella Solid. 

The fish fabric on the back is the same soft blue.

This photo shows the best color.

Size:             46" X 56"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Steel Blue #38201
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Meandering

Open Window is based on Bonnie Hunter's Open Window pattern. Her square size is 5.5" finished; mine is 8". I wanted the whole block as my entire quilt. I decided the window needed something, so I added kites.

The colored fabric is left over from a log cabin quilt that I made years ago. All the colored fabric, except the kites, is from the same piece of fabric.

The backing is a favorite of mine - it's been in my stash for a long time. This photo shows the back color the best.

The recipient might like the back better than the front of this quilt!

Size:             48" X 48"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, top - Lt Grey #17543, back - Cardinal #70001
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Meandering

Birds is made with fabric from my late friend Colleen. I added the yellow and the orange (because I ran out of yellow).

The backing is a multicolor that I purchased to go with this quilt.

Size:             48" X 48"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Steel Blue #38201
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Meandering

Black/White with Red is made with some foundation strips that were cut into squares. Many years ago, I was going to make a very large black and white quilt with foundation strips of strings. That plan never happened and I'm slowly using up the black and white strips. 

I quilted figure eights in each block 

and a meander in the black border. The binding is red with black dots.

The backing is a black and white print which I purchased recently.

Size:             51" X 51"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Bone #17443, Black #11001
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Figure eight in blocks, Meander in black border

Simply Squares Series

In January I decided to try to make 40 donation quilts this year. I began making some Simply Square Quilts - a checkerboard of 8" squares. (Pieces were cut at  8.5" by 8.5".) I was trying to use up lots of leftover fabric. This turned out to be a quick and easy way to use larger fabric scraps. These are the 17 quilts from the series.

Blue with Paint

Turquoise with Yellow 

Bright Yellow with Colored Circles 

Blue with Colored Circles on White

Pink with Many Colors 

Teal Squares with Big Dots on White

Black with Colored Dots and Orange

Red and Blue with White Dots

Black with colored Rings and Yellow 

Orange with Black Print 

Bugs 

Stars and Pink 

Red and Blue with Colored Squares

Red with Paw Prints 

Stars and Blue

Black with Colors and Teal 

Black Crayon Print and Red 

Update and Finishes

Ray is doing well. He still has almost 3 weeks of restrictions, so the time does seem to drag for him. We do have another interesting development here. While we were in Shawnee National Forest in May, I had a tick attach itself to my leg. At least my doctors think it was a tick. It was encased in a blood-like sac when I found and removed it - I never actually saw a tick. A week later I had a full body rash but not the typical bull's-eye rash. I was given meds for 5 days and the rash cleared. Thirty-five days after the bite, I had a blood test, the Western Blot Lyme's Disease test. All was negative. On August 20, I saw my dermatologist for my yearly body scan. He asked about the tiny spot on my leg, so I told him my tale. He found it interesting and after asking more questions, he ordered another Western Blot. And this time it was positive! More of the same meds but this time for 21 days. I didn't notice any symptoms but since starting the medicine, my neck isn't stiff in the morning, my back doesn't hurt as much and I'm not crazy tired so maybe I did have symptoms. Who knows?! Life is never dull around here! 

 

I've been putting up produce - zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and potatoes - but I have found time for finishing some quilts.

 

Take Five with Crazy Fabric uses the 'crazy' fabric that I once used for a quilt backing, along with 'plain' fabrics that coordinate.

I quilted this with a large interlocking figure eight.

The backing is a multicolor with all the right colors.

This is another donation quilt.

Size:             48" by 60"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Lemon Ice #80607
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Interlocking Figure Eight

Simply Squares - Stars and Blue uses the same star fabric that was used for Simply Squares - Stars and Pink. It is also a donation quilt.

The back is soft muted colors.

I think you can see the quilting in this photo.

Size:             56" by 56"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Baby Blue #30290
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Large String of Loops

Green and Orange Squares is a donation quilt that uses a green print from my late friend Colleen, and orange from my stash. This is not part of the Simply Squares Series - these are 5-inch squares rather than 8-inch.

I bought the green backing in July at Inspired to Sew when we were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, visiting family.

Here's a closer view:

Size:             41" by 46"
Thread:         Glide 50-wt, Lemon Ice #80607
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Interlocking Figure Eights

Simply Squares - Black with Colors and Teal is another donation quilt. 

The backing, a black multi-color print, has been in my stash for a long time. I decided it was time to use it.

Size:             56" by 56"
Thread:        Glide 50-wt, top - Lt. Turquoise #32975 

                     back - Shadow #1BLK3
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Large String of Loops

Simply Squares - Black Crayon Print and Red is the last Simply Squares Quilt! I must figure how many I made this year. 

This donation quilt has a black and white backing that I recently purchased.

Size:             56" by 56"
Thread:        Glide 50-wt, top - Ruby #70187

                     back - Bone #17443
Batting:         Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:        Large String of Loops

I have less than 10 quilts in the need-to-be-quilted pile! I know at least 2 are not donation quilts. Lately, my quilting is either machine quilting or binding. One of these days, when the piles are at manageable sizes, I'll start piecing again. There are a few older projects that I'll enjoy working on, and, of course, I have more ideas for new quilts.