Progress on QAYG Hexagons

 Last night was spent at school watching these below kids from 8 local schools perform their Winter Guard routines. 

Sunday, I spent time stitching these hexagons into twosies. They need to get sewn into groups of 4, and then I'll start making my column to add to the existing extra ones I've done already. I obviously need to add a bunch more colors to the mix first through! Looks like I'll need to prep more of these this week at some point.

Joy kindly reminded me I need to work on my Winter UFO quarter projects. Sigh. I don't like the next stage - prepping and pinning for quilting. Alas, I will get it pressed and pinned today after work. That will allow me to do a little quilting on it Wednesday evening and Thursday, fingers crossed. I'd like to get that old nine patch UFO finished off this month. I was hoping for a finish each month this quarter.... we will see how the next month and a half go! The calendar is pretty full with kid events, but I tend to do better when I am busy... since in my mind I only have this slot of time to do something, so I do it... rather than putting it off until later!

Sunday - a day of rest and stitching?

 I'm still recovering from a Winter guard competition chaperoning (I really don't do anything - just another adult there and I get in free!). We got to school for 8AM and got home after 10PM. The competition was a couple of hours away and we had the added bonus of a handful of the kids were preforming that morning for Pre-MPA for show choir across town. We picked them up after the performance and the school bus booked it to the event. We arrived 20 minutes before the JV was to preform - so no warmups, but they did great and placed 3rd in their division of 9 at the event. Not bad considering 3 people have dropped out - the most recent 2 after winter break so the show was rewritten a few weeks ago. Em is a co-captain this year.

the start of the show.

Em is on the right.

Progress has been made on the Cross Stitch this week.

last Sunday Feb 1

This morning Feb 8.

I just have a small stack of tall houses to glue baste for the current cut parts of Brimfield Awakening. I was able to get a good stack done while the kids were getting ready before we left for the competition. I also stitched closed a hole in one of the snowballs for the performance.

This week the boy turned 18 on Friday, and we will see if he wants to do his 'birthday dinner' today or another time. Friday he was full from a baking contest the Academic club had after school - lots of sweets were eaten! Yesterday Em and I were gone all day and he did his annual birthday lunch and shopping with Grandma. He wants to do Indian at the local restaurant to check it out. We will see if he opts out since it is Superbowl Sunday here in the USA. I'll watch the game and do some stitching while listening. I'm not into football but will watch today. We do streaming services and not cable.... so I ordered Peacock (NBC) here in the USA so I can watch the Superbowl and the Olympics for the next couple of weeks. 

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Sunday Stitchers. 

Must go walk the dog, who did not get walked or go out much yesterday while I was gone. 

Happy 18th to my boy today!

 This kid is officially an adult today! Yikes, seems like just yesterday we were taking him home from the hospital... and then back to the hospital twice with high jaundice levels. It was a fun first couple of weeks with him. We are not too big on birthday's in my house, but I did get a few balloons and made a banner that hung outside his bedroom door this morning. Then I blew up orange and blue (Florida UF Gater colors) balloons to have in the hallway as he walked to the kitchen. Emily might have tossed a couple at him as well. 

His Dad made the requested cheesecake with raspberries as his birthday 'cake' yesterday. We will enjoy that later today.... although after school his academic team is doing a party with surprise baking entries and a few blind testers. He made something to bring in, and it will be interesting to see the results. I hear 9 are baking something for the challenge.

I seem to be enjoying the cross stitch and just working on that lately. I finally have a leaf of the 'quilt' nearly completed. Progress! No stitching happened while watching the Tampa Lightning game last night. Way too exciting. That reminds me... need to see if there are any tickets available later this month while we are over that way for the Indy Car races.

Brimfield Awakening

 I have had trainings online at work this week and finally remembered to put my BA stuff near my desk. I was able to glue baste these stacks during one training this morning. 

My tip so I remember - I started on the right side of the house top and went counterclockwise all around. That worked best for me.

I am hoping to have a good stack of at least the big house and the short ones to start stitching sets of 3 on the Winter Guard trip on Saturday. I said I'd chaperone and feel much better this week so should be able to go. Another long day - 8AM to 10PM is the schedule and the competition is a good 2 hours away. Stitching time on the bus is a possibility. 

Cross Stitch

 Cross stitch is a good cold weather project! I've been adding stitches on the inside of the quilt area but since they are white and light creams, they don't show a lot of progress. 

Someone thinks it's cold, and lets his girl cover him up. Anyone else, and he immediately gets up and lays on the quilt. Emily, and he snuggles down and sleeps!

Chilly Sunday in Florida

 It was 23 degrees and feels like 14 in north central Florida this morning around 8AM and it won't get above freezing until 11AMish. We are similar temps  tonight as well. Thank goodness for all the quilts in the house to keep us toasty!

Last Sunday I posted my cross stitch at this stage.

I've been doing a lot of stitching this week! I need to start alternating the colors with the background white and lights of the quilt area so I can make progress there. It is just more fun to stitch the colors as you can see the patterns emerge. 

I suppose I need to go break the ice on the chicken waters. The container for Bear (the dog) on the porch was covered in ice when I let him out. 

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Sunday Stitchers.

Stay warm out there.

Saturday...

 We lost internet around 1PM yesterday. Seems it was part of an outage in NC,TN,GA,FL, etc for 23 hours. Thank goodness hubby and I grew up without internet and can cope, but it does make you think of how dependent upon it we are. A little unnerving to think 'someone' could just turn that off and how would we get any news of what is happening in the world? 

That led me to miss my last hour of work. The kids were not happy when they got home... and since the phone signal is horrible at my house (we use the wifi) we were kinda stuck. Since we could not order food for takeout.... we headed to Red Robin for dinner. It was a nice family dinner... and one week before I have my oldest turning 18! I got the mushroom burger and garlic parmesan steak fries. Very yummy. Good family conversation which we have not had in a while with the kids crazy schedules. It doesn't allow for family dinners much. I still have a DVD/VCR player and pulled out the movies The Pacifier and The Great Outdoors to watch last night. 

I was listening to a downloaded audio book while doing some cross stitch yesterday afternoon.

Then I stitched up the prepped bear paws for Aidan's graduation quilt. I really need to get back to that one! This is 3 sets of 4 paws in green.

Today I measured the blue UFO quilt and it measured 67 or 68 x 81. I figured I need about 300 inches of binding so cut 8 strips to make the binding which matches the outer border. I pulled a 3 yard cut of light blue from MSQC sale a couple of months ago and need to press it and get it pinned for quilting. 

I downloaded a few free books from audible.... just so I have something to listen to! My Libby app was not cooperating to give me titles, so the internet is still a little wonky. Emily is complaining she can't do her homework. I think I'll listen to my new book and add some floss to the cross stitch this afternoon. Maybe make some zucchini bread. I made blueberry muffins this morning and a no recipe homemade potato and ham potato casserole for lunch. Its 53 in Ocala... the high for the day before it dips into the 20's tonight.

Stay warm, wherever you are!

Friday

 Not much progress on the cross stitch. I did not get any stitching time yesterday. After walking the dog and grabbing a shower after a leisurely morning wake up and scrolling, we did our normal Thursday visit of my FIL. We headed from there to his house with a lunch date included. We waited quite a while on the window of time for the color designer to meet us, but picked colors for the house painting on the outside. That should be able to happen now on the 9th. It was to be last week on the 20th, but this appointment got delayed and when they called Greg Sunday the 18th he relayed we never picked colors.... All set to go now. 

By the time we got home it was after 5. Both kids were late... so I popped to the store to grab a couple things to make a stir fry. Mushrooms were out at my last shop and Emily used the snow peas so I needed more. I love the rice at our Japanese Habachi grill and really wanted that Saturday night. I made some Sunday but it was more a chinese fried rice version. Some research led me to this sauce, so I found it at various places and got some last night. At home, I took the top off and it smells just like the sauce they use at the grill! Yea! I had some leftover rice so gave it a shot. Added a little water - tbsp or two. Some oil in the pan heated up, then smushed the rice into one layer to cook for a minute, stirred and smushed for another minute a couple of times. Added powder ginger and garlic powder and the sauce with a chopped up scallion and a scrambled egg. OMG! I am a happy camper. I can make it at home whenever I want now! I used it for the veggies and the chicken as well and it was yummy. Must get more of this stuff =)

My little bit of progress on the cross stitch. 

I had hoped to get my blue quilt top quilted this week. No progress so far.  We have a chilly weekend on tap. Maybe I can make progress on it this weekend. Right now, my toes are cold so must go find my slippers.

Mid week of chaos in the country.

 I am appalled that the US government is murdering and using chemical warfare against it's own citizens for using their constitutional rights to protest the illegal acts of this government. There is never justification to use chemical warfare against peaceful protesters who are documenting injustices. I hear they are taking photo's of people and license plates to build a database of US citizens who are against the tactics of this regime. This is against the law and all those in power who are allowing this to happen need to be removed and tried in a court of law immediately.

Onto more positive things. A sunset this week - they cleared the trees from the lots across the road in the shot and have already poured cement for 2 houses to be built. Right on the road that will eventually (if the county ever moves it along) be a 4 lane divided highway instead of the 2 lanes it is now. On either end of this segment - it is 4 lanes with a divided highway - sidewalk on one side and multi use path on the other.

I got all four of the purple hexagons completed. They join the stack. I believe there are 24 there now, so time to make them into pairs. I do have more of the hexagons prepped so can keep working on them this week.

I added a few stitches into the cross stitch. I started some of the 1/2 stitches in blue and green. The inside of the quilt has the light colors added as well. I'll get to the colorful leaf pattern soon I think.

Must set the phone and computer down and take a deep breath and stitch something instead.

FYI - they cancelled the senior trip to NYC,PA and DC that was to leave this afternoon through Monday night. The extremely cold weather and the potential for a noreaster on Sunday to Monday (their bus ride home would be all day Monday) led to the decision. Most of the kids don't have winter coats down here, so that might have factored into the picture - as well as a bus off the road in cold temps. They are all disappointed but he is trying to reschedule. Any of the 3 dates will conflict with existing events, so we will see what happens. Honestly, with all the crazy things happening in the country, I am ok with this delay.

A ufo to a top stage.

 

This made it to a top stage yesterday.  I need to measure it but I think it is around 84x68 maybe?

The goal was to get it completed this month. We have 6 more days to the month. We will see...

Slow Sunday

I did not do much slow stitching this week. I hope to change that by setting a goal of stitching up one hexagon QAYG at lunchtime each day this week. That should help get progress on this project again. I have added a purple one the last two days.

Only a few strands have been added to the cross stitch. This is the right side of the photo I am following. The other page is more of the wagon. I did pick up the two flosses that I didn't have for this pattern, so I should be all set on floss for this one now.

After a day in the hot sun working the obstacle course for the littles at girl scout camp, I had a bit of a headache and needed lots of sleep. I guess the age thing is catching up to me!  After lots of liquids and Advil this morning, I managed to figure out meals for the week and went shopping. That leaves me the rest of the afternoon to play with the sewing machine and maybe start organizing a little of my sewing space with my new shelving. I'll plan to add some more threads to the cross stitch this evening.

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Sunday Stitchers.

Saturday RSC

 This guy was waiting for his boy to get home last night. He went up to Gainesville with friends for dinner.... and to either celebrate or commiserate the UF acceptance postings. There was a bit of both  - mine got in, his buddies did not. They have a back up plan, so we will see how things shake out. Mine was very happy to get in as this was his 2nd choice after Dartmouth (which was a rejection letter in December). 

The UFO progress without the dog! I hope to press and add the borders later tonight, if I'm not wiped out from volunteering at girl scout camp for a littles encampment today. Projected temps in the 80's and sunshine. Must bring my hat and sunblock!

A few more houses were added as I was piecing the border above. Six is a nice number I think.

I'm thankful to have one more Saturday in blue, as I'd like to really add a star 16 patch block or two and a chicken block or two. We will see how that goes next week.

Linking up with the RSC. 

Friday

I've been listening to audio books. I've been listening to the Hope Holloway series Coconut Keys on audible. Really good series. I do like this author and have listened to a few of her series in the last month or two. Great storyteller and keeps things moving well.

Then took a break and listened to 'The Intruder' by Freida McFadden. Really good and a bit unexpected towards the end.

I have not been doing hand work this week ..... stupid addicting phone game of Yarn Fever! I'm stuck at level 22 (a super hard one) and have no credits. So... I'll be there for a while as I do not spend actual money on games.  

The dog had a vet visit this week - normal yearly shots and check up to get his script for Simparica for the year. We have to dope him up to go... and he was still a handful for the staff. They did the best they could. He seems fine but is over 90 pounds.... so the chunker is switching to a weight control food. He is a lazy slug and not active at all.... which fits into our household well!

I did manage to piece the first border and made some technical adjustments and tweaked a few cuts to kinda get it to fit. Looking from a distance.... it looks good! That's what I'm going with. It needs a good press. Then the instructions say a small 1.5 inch border then an outer border. I think the inner will be the white and the outer.... will have to be the print as the blue is gone! I did add a blue house with the scraps (will show tomorrow). 

Saturday I volunteered to help at a littles encampment at Camp Wildwood with Girl Scouts. This is the the K-5th grade kids. The main person who runs everything... is recovering from the flu so will not be there. I said I'd help if they needed it so I'm on for the afternoon and will arrive mid morning in case they need help in kitchen for lunch. Flu and COVID are raging right now down here (but you really don't hear about it). We are going to be different from the rest of the country and will be unseasonable high temps - 80 on Saturday and 86 on Sunday. 

Hoping all in the freezing cold path stay warm, have heat and water and plenty of hand stitching prepped!

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.