Relaxing Sunday

I got a lot of machine stitching in on Saturday. I was able to piece the inner part of a really old quilt top. It still needs the pieced borders, maybe tomorrow. Today was more of a sit around and rest day.

I prepped a few more hexagon this week.

I've been adding more stitches into the cross stitch. This is November from the book 'A Quilt for all Seasons'. 

We had a second cold front go through Florida and the temps will be down in the freezing zone again tonight. I'll have to cover things up again for overnight. Then I'll settle in and watch some more tv while adding stitches to this and the hexagons.

Linking up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers. 

 

RSC Houses

I got a few minutes this week and got to dig into the drawers of pre cuts.... to realize I have 2.5 and 1.5 but not really much 2 inch! Guess I'll need to remedy that as this house block from Bonnie Hunter (free patterns on her website) uses 2 inch strips. I'll be making a few more of these blocks today instead of heading to the guard competition in Orlando. It would have been a 15-16 hour day and I don't think I was up to it today. I did drop Em to school this morning for 8AM. Pick up is 11PMish. She had enough chaperones, so I didn't feel too bad backing out. 

I also trimmed up all the blocks this week on the old UFO so they should be ready to sew into rows and a top today as well. My old book doesn't have the unfinished sizes listed of the blocks..... so I did some calculations and hopefully it is good. I started this back in the late 1990's... if you can believe that! The strips were cut and the nine patches were stitched. It was time to pull it out and dust it off. 

Linking up with the RSC.

 

Thursday perspective

 I normally keep my thoughts positive and 'non political'. However, what is happening right now in this country is atrocious and I honestly can't believe it is happening right here, in 2026! It feels like 1930's Germany, and I've read enough history to SEE what is repeating. Not sure exactly what I can do but if I see injustice, I will point it out in person. I have an event in Orlando with the school this weekend and I am hoping that we do not see the ICE treatment that is happening in the northern states. 

Back to happier things. Aidan and the Academic Team got knocked out of the regional tournament on the first round yesterday. They had a long lunch and then were back at school for the end of the day. He did want to try Tennis again, so I scheduled a Dr appt for clearance to go back today. 

The perspective part - progress on cross stitch. I figured I'd show the pattern and where I am on it. I did start in the middle as they recommend. Doing that quilt border was a nice easy start into the project. I had to search through floss to find the bottom color outlined by green in the quilt at the bottom, and the color I started on in the quilt area. Lets just say, it took a while to find those 2 flosses! I kinda hate that page divide area, so decided to start working on that for the wagon as well. Now to find the rectangular hoop for it and see how that works, since the circle one is just too small for my liking on this project.

We visited my FIL and he is doing fine. Hubby is walking Bear. At the dr's with Aidan and then walking in Sams, I kept popping a tendon? in my right foot behind the heel. Silly me, kept doing it and now I know it's there. I've got the foot support on it and sneakers on in the house. Will try to keep off it today and see if that helps.

Time to go visit the machine and see about building some houses. I wrote down the info for Bonnie Hunters Happy Scrappy House Block on her free patterns page. Off to go pull fabrics from the overflowing scrap bins and see what I can build!

Tuesday already.

Monday was a long day! We left the house at 6:15 and got home after 1:30 PM. The procedure went well, and my FIL is back to his room at the Assisted Living facility. They were great there, coordinating getting the antibiotics sent there (instead of where they sent them to the old pharmacy near his house an hour away!) They were going to check on him every 2 hours and make sure he had dinner tonight - brought up if he didn't want to walk down to the dining room.  We got to the hospital well before 8AM and they got him processed and ready..... to wait all prepped for a couple of hours before they brought him back around 10:30 for the procedure. Done for another year.

I was mostly on my phone but did get these 4 hexagons stitched up while waiting. Shout out to the nurses in pre-op - they were awesome!

After we got home and relaxed a bit, I did head out to Publix to get a script and a couple things needed for meal options - roasted veggie and hot italian sausage over penne (Monday) and chicken enchiladas for Tuesday. I just needed the flour burritos for that.

I was relaxing with some stitching on the cross stitch...after searching twice through the bag of floss for a specific number that I had but could not find. It was the next one I wanted to stitch with...and I did manage to find it. I'll have to search again for the other number I need to start stitching inside that quilt border after. It's sideways, sorry about that! I need to try the rectangle hoop on this and see if that works better.

Saturday and Sunday I did find the strips cut out for the alternate block - and got them cut and made into the 31 blocks I need. I noticed the book instructions (from 1990s) does not list the unfinished or finished block sizes..... in a beginner book! I can calculate what the finished size should be on the nine patch.... and will check all their sizes and cut the alternate block to match when squaring it up. Me now making this.... wished I used a cream instead of the stark white as it would go better with the print. I'll put it together and see how it looks as a top.

 

The other fun that happened yesterday.... Emily got home from school and right after, I got a call from Aidan. He needed a pick up at school with someone to drive his car home. Seems the first try out for tennis and running a lap..... got him feeling light headed and he passed out! The medic on site would not let him drive home. Took a bit for his color to come back. So... Emily went with as Greg's back was aching from the morning hospital chairs. Got him picked up and he came home with me. Em drove his car back. Seems he always wondered what it was like to pass out.... well, he found out it is kinda dreamlike and surreal, with a fuzzy tv screen interference when you wake up out of it. He's my kid... I've passed out multiple times. It is not a fun experience. He was joking as they were trying to get his color back. He needs a medical clearance to go back. I'll try and get him in with his current pediatrician to get the ok to go back... then will swap him to an 'adult' one for next month when he turns 18. Always something happening at my house! After a great nights sleep (did not sleep well Sunday as I knew I had to be up early Monday) it is off to work I go!

 

Slow Sunday

 Someone turned 60 today in my household (it's not me - hubby is 6 years older than me)! His Mom is coming up for a lunch out at a local restaurant. 

I'll be adding some stitches to the new cross stitch I started this year. It is the November design from Paula Vaughn's Quilts for all Seasons.

I'll also be glue basting a bunch of units for my Brimfield Awakening EPP I cut out earlier in the week. 

I'll take both with me tomorrow as I'll have waiting time at the hospital with my FIL as he has a procedure. Hubby's back is hurting, so I'll go with and handle the waiting inside so he can go to the car comfy seats if needed. He has to be there for 8AM... so we need to go pick him up for 7AM and bring him there. A very early start for a Monday. 

Another option- the QAYG hexagons I prepped last week as well. Plenty of options to keep my hands busy as I wait. I need to find our masks to wear while there. I know flu is running rampant and I did get my flu shot back in September. I managed flights over the holidays fine, but figure hospitals are even more of a germ area and don't want to be down for a week with the bad variant that is prevalent now.

Linking up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers.

Blue UFO/RSC

 I do plan to join the RSC 2026 again this year. I will continue on with some old projects like the chickens and alternate BITA blocks. I'd like to add a couple of new things to the mix. I made house blocks years ago and gifted that quilt away (my daughter was not happy but it went to a good home with one of my girl scouts) so I will plan to make another one of some sort this year. I also liked the 16 patch star blocks, and have lots of cream bits leftover from my flowering snowball cut offs so will use those to make the stars in RSC colors of blocks this year. So, that is the plan before I go see what everyone else is making!

These are the 'leftover collections' I hope to be adding to this year.

The chicken blocks. 

The alternate BITA blocks so far.

The 16 patch blocks with 2.5 inch squares.

These were the houses I made - free pattern from Bonnie Hunters Quiltville blog. Might do another like this? We will see.

I did just go search to find a UFO in blues that I cut out ahem.... over 25 years ago! I think it might be time to finish this one off. It took a bit to find... and I might have found 3 other projects along the way. It looks like the nine patches are all sewn (I wonder if they match the correct size? My seam allowance was way off back then.) I'll be reading the instructions and figuring out how to make the alternate blocks. It looks like a more difficult way from what I expected but we will give it a try and see how it goes. 

It is called Sunrise Surprise and I'm not sure why I chose the colors I did but we will sew it up and see how it turns out this month!

This is the book that the pattern is in. One of the first I purchased back in 1992 when I graduated from college and started playing with a sewing machine. I did the four patch baby quilt and you know that friendship one still calls to me. I guess some likes never change over the years!

Currently my sewing table is being used by hubby to build some new shelving storage units. I hope to get it set up again tomorrow to sew and will start making those alternate blocks and see how this one goes together. 

Brimfield Awakening

 

This one was started and then sat, and sat and sat. The issue was I started without a plan and the colors were not 'matching' what I had in my mind and were not working.

With that in mind, I pulled the baggie of Liberty fabric cast offs I picked up 20 years ago at a guild meeting. Just enough to make either the tall or small house. I cut out a bunch but they are multiples of the same fabrics. I did a couple peels as well. 

I was not feeling it for this project. It was also hard to hold the template and cut around... I looked over and saw the rotating 10 inch cutting mat I got on a daily deal at MSQC last month. OMG! This thing rocks. Love it for this purpose.

I then opened one of the 4 charm packs that I had tucked with this project. Not solids like the originals but read as solids in a variety of colors. 

I remembered I needed twice as many small houses than the tall or fat houses this time.

I have quite a bit of the houses cut. I'll need to do more peels, but will wait and see what colors I want to use as I make the little sections - 2 small houses and one fat house go together and then a peel goes underneath. The tall houses connect 4 of those sections together for a circle in the pattern.

All prepped with their papers. Now do I use the glue stick or tack them with thread? So many decisions.