Some quilting

I try to quilt most days, sometimes for a few minutes and sometimes a few hours. 

My first finish is the 30's Quilt. Last fall I won a bundle of 30's fabric fat quarters. I hunted and finally found a little fabric in my stash to go with it - 30's fabric isn't a normal choice for me. I also added a little yellow fabric to make the quilt 50" by 58".

I used Glide #80607 Lemon Ice thread on the top and #10430 Battleship gray on the back to quilt this with a double loop spiral. 

I bought purple for the back and binding of this donation quilt.

A couple of years ago, I bought a pack of fat quarters - Ruby Star Society Backyard by Sarah Watts. I made three quilts tops. Backyard 2 is the first one to be quilted and finished. This donation quilt is 58" by 60" and used the leftover HSTs from the 1st top. 

I used Glide #17443 Bone thread on the top and #10877 Sterling on the back when I quilted this with a loop-de-loop motif.

I think the quilting shows better here.

I purchased a dark pink fabric for the back.

I have a number of quilts in progress. Here are a few I don't think I've shared before. I'm continually trying to clear out fabric with more donation quilts.

A few days ago, I decided I had a lot of charm squares and some mini charms that I wanted to use. So... I decided nine-patchs of 2.5" squares (any color and any fabrics paired with white) would be good. I have it started.

Since there were LOTS of 2.5" squares, I also started a large postage stamp quilt. I have really enjoyed sewing on both of these quilts lately - very relaxing!

I have a graduation quilt to make and I just decided (finally) what I wanted to do so I need fabric and lots of time in the studio. When I finish that, I have a memorial t-shirt quilt and pillows to make for my brother's family. Somewhere in there I have a quilt retreat. So my future looks sunny with a great chance of quilting!

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I've posted so here goes...

Sadly my oldest brother passed away in January. Tom was an Agent Orange 'survivor' from the Vietnam War. He was totally disabled for a number of years. Before that, he was Santa to a lot of people. He was loved by many. 

His visitation and funeral were so hard but definitely helped his wife, children, grandchildren, great-granddaughter, brothers, and sister (me) know how very much he meant to so many people. I miss him.

Four days after Tom's death, Ray had an appointment to see his oncologist for a checkup. His testosterone (affected by his hormone blocking drugs) had to be normal before the PSA score was reliable. We hoped to hear the words "no signs of cancer" in May. Surprisingly, everything aligned on January 30, and we heard those wonderful words - "no signs of cancer". Ray is cancer free!!! His energy level is slowly improving as his body is still recovering from treatment. Hopefully by May, he'll have near-normal energy.

Life has been like a roller coaster and we are just hanging on! We both love ordinary days. We've been able to watch our Illinois grandsons play hockey and indoor soccer. Ray spends time taking and editing his photos while I spend time quilting. 

We recently took a day trip to Olbrich Gardens in Madison, WI, to see the Orchid Escape which was awesome! Here's just four of the many photos that I took.

We were in Chicago on Sunday watching one of our grandsons play his last youth hockey game. He played in the 18U NIHL Blackhawks Tournament championship. The game was at the United Center where the Chicago Blackhawks play. Quite the way to end his youth hockey career!

Grandson #15 in white sweater

We were able to visit our niece and her family in Wauconda on our way home yesterday. It was wonderful to see them and visit their businesses.

Bungalow Printing
Beats Plastic Refillery

We have spent today resting, catching up from the Chicago trip, and trying to adjust to the time change. I've been doing a little quilting and have a couple of finishes that I'll share soon.

Time moves in one direction,

memory in another. 

                           -William Gibson