A Fast Finish!

I began the Teal and White quilt in early May. It was simple and just what I was looking to do. 

This donation quilt used many 2.5" by 6.5" teal scraps and finished at 54" by 68". 

I free-motion quilted the double bubble motif with 40-wt #2600 Dove Aurifil thread. The 40-wt is a little heavier than the 50-wt and shows the quilting a little more.

The backing, teal with various colors, is from my stash.

Hopefully this quilt will bring some joy and comfort to a young person.

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I haven't been making masks for a while. It's been a nice break. I don't have a lot of interfacing so I'm not sure what I'll do in the future.

Illinois will move into a new phase for COVID-19 in the next few days. It appears that larger gatherings will be allowed and restaurants will be able to host customers inside at reduced capacities. We are seeing many people not wearing masks so we'll mostly stay home . . .  and I'll work on understanding this new Blogger and I'll keep quilting!

50 Years and more

We have been married 50 years! I'm not sure where the time has gone but the calendar says 50 years, 1/2 century, so it must be true!

Saturday was our anniversary. Even though the day wasn't what we planned, it was almost perfect. We talked with DS1 early. (The kink in our day was that he and his family couldn't be here). DS2 and DDIL2  planned most of our day including dinner and letting our village know what was happening. It was delightful to spend time with them and their children after all of these months. And we were able to see friends and family as they drove by to honk (thanks to DS2 and DDIL2).

We were supposed to have a Rootbeer Tasting at Easter time. We decided to have it Saturday. The grandsons pretty much ran the show and it was fun. 

There is new life in the soil for every man. 

There is healing in the trees for tired minds 

and for our overburdened spirits, 

there is strength in the hills, 

if only we will lift up our eyes. 

Remember that nature is your great restorer.

- Calvin Coolidge

This morning we decided to go for a hike. It was a delight to put on my boots.

First stop was Horseshoe Mound Preserve. There were only 2 cars there when we arrived. It was easy to social distance on this a gorgeous day.

My favorite photographer

Our other stop was Casper Bluff Land and Water Reserve. There was only 1 car there when we arrived.

The mighty Mississippi on a beautiful day.

It's been a great weekend. We both feel blessed.

An update and a finished table runner

A couple of weeks ago, a 'local' quilt shop had an online demo for making slab quilt blocks. I have done this before and decided it was a good activity for me right now. I decided that all of my pieces would be squares or rectangles, something I have never done. 

After making four large slabs, I decided that I would not have enough scraps of this color to make a quilt and I really didn't want to cut into yardage. Then it occurred to me that I needed to make a table runner for a new piece of furniture. 

The color was perfect and I had plenty of scraps to make the 23" by 63" runner. I free-motion quilted this with the open paisley motif. The paisley motif is a favorite of mine and I was anxious to try open paisley. I used 40-weight, Aurifil #2600 Dove gray thread.

The front of the quilt uses batiks with a gray grunge for the sashing and border. The backing and the binding are a cotton from my stash. I'm not a purist and have no problem mixing batiks and regular cottons.

Now the quilt resides in its intended place. The batiks pick up the colors in the wall hanging, an old church window.

Another view.

And one last close up showing the quilting.

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Other than quilting...

I've made just 5 masks since I last posted! I think we have 12 masks in our inventory at the moment. I leave the elastic loosely knotted on the masks until the new owner adjusts it. They can then move the knot into the casing. I don't know if we are done making masks but it is nice not to be making masks or waiting for supplies on a daily basis.

Ray and I made 2 fleece blankets. We have a young friend, Brynn. Every year she has a day for her friends to meet and make blankets. Then Brynn takes them to UW Children's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. Brynn has spent a lot of time as a patient in this hospital and enjoys donating the blankets. This year we aren't gathering together; we need to make them on our own and get them to Brynn.

And we've been cleaning. Yuck! Well, it needed to be done. Every closet, cupboard, bookcase, file cabinet, piece of furniture, every nook and cranny on the main floor of our house is getting cleaned. I think about 2 more hours and this will be done! The upstairs of our home is my studio - all 3 rooms. They get cleaned often and the four huge dormer closets get done every few years so we'll pass on the upstairs. The basement is on my list but we'll take at least a week off before beginning. 

I hope you have a good weekend.

#staysafe #washyourhands #wearyourmask #bekind