20 Twenty Mystery Quilt Blocks 2 and 3

Greetings Blog Friends,

Blocks 2 and 3 have been released by The Sewing Basket quilt shop.  They will release the block patterns on Wednesday and Friday of each week.  Since I was busy with the 2017 scrapbook until Saturday (see last post), I didn't get to making the blocks until yesterday.

Here are by finished blocks:

I really like this project.  It is keeping all of us participants engaged with each other, and is providing something positive to look forward to each week.  I have deliberately chosen springtime colors and prints to help lift my spirits.  I've also quit watching the news...it is all so depressing and we can't do much more that we are already doing now.  The finished quilt will be dedicated to my "Corona-cation" and will be a testament to making it through the storm with a positive attitude!  

Today I start tackling the sewing UFOs that came home from Florida with me.  Speaking of our time in Florida...a parting shot of a happier time!

Till next time...be safe and be well.

Florida 2017 Book Finished!

Greetings Blog Friends,

My first UFO project to complete is the week's trip we took in February 2017 to Florida.  Orlando was our base, but we ranged from Clearwater Beach to St. Augustine, to the Villages, to Kennedy Space Center.  I did most of the work on this scrapbook at our scrapping retreat in Crivitz last March.  Yes, it has been sitting in the UFO pile for a whole year already!  Geez!  It's a great book (even if I do say so myself!!) and it's time to finish it.  

Just the pages from our day at Epcot were left to finish when I came home from Crivitz retreat last March.  

There wasn't really much to do...just a matter of putting pictures on pages, adding a few embellishments (with help from the Cricut machine) and doing a little journaling.  And, Voilá!  Done!

The book ended up being over 4" thick!  Here are some of my favorite pages:

UFO Finish #1 is in the books!  I'll be switching gears to sewing UFOs for next week.  Till then...

20 Twenty Online Mystery Quilt Group and Block #1

Greetings Blog Friends,

I follow a number of quilt shops, some local, some not.  One of my favorite quilt shops not far from me is The Sewing Basket in Plymouth, WI.  They have made the difficult decision to temporarily close to the public for the time being.  However, they have developed an online mystery quilt group to help minimize the feelings of isolation and loneliness we all feel now.  

Sheryl and Elayne have developed a quilt of 20 blocks, each using 20 pieces.  Block patterns will be released periodically beginning March  20 and running  through August 20.  

I pulled fabrics from my stash...all scraps  and leftovers of previous projects.  I chose a tropical print for my accent fabric and coordinating fabrics in typical tropical fabrics in corals, turquoises, light greens, and yellows.  Here are the fabrics I chose for this project:

The first block pattern was released yesterday.  Here is my block:

My plan and goal is to drop whatever project I'm currently working on and complete each block as soon as it is released.  I'll post a photo of each block as it is completed and the final quilt top sometime at the end of August.  This quilt will have special meaning, considering all we are going through as a nation and a global community.  By quilt's end, I hope our "world" both near and far will be back to something of a pre-COVID19 normal.  

Till the next block...

Keeping Busy "Sheltering In Place"

Greetings Blog Friends,

It is hard to believe that just two short weeks ago we came home from Florida and things were pretty much normal.  Then, the world as we know it simply exploded!  Massive cancellations of sports events, travel plans, no restaurants, retail shops and bank lobbies closed, and suspension of church services.  How our lives have changed in such a small amount of time!

Denis and I are well as I write this blog.  We've stocked up (but not hoarded) our refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  We've given up eating out for the time being and have pretty much planned to live the next weeks and most possibly months close to home.  We have cancelled planned vacation trips to Minneapolis and to Alaska, and the latter breaks my heart into little pieces!

We've also formulated some plans to keep us busy around here.  I, of course, have my sewing and scrapping and staying home for days on end is OK with me...I'm something of a hermit anyway and Denis had to cajole me out of my warm cocoon to go out at all.  Denis loves to be out and about and is taking this change much harder.   We have decided to indeed go out everyday...in the car just to get away from the four walls.  We will drive somewhere close by, socialize with other drivers (from the safety of our own car) and maybe get some sunshine or an ice cream cone.  We've gone through our stock of jigsaw puzzles and have discovered many we have not assembled, so we'll be working on those.  

We will have one game night per week, several movie nights per week and will try not to dwell on the nightly news too much.

Personally, I have so many sewing and scrapping projects to do that I could be confined for a year and not get them all done (but let's hope it doesn't come to that!!)  As I sit and look around my office/craft room, I see scrapping pages and sewing projects to complete.  

I'm literally overrun with unfinished objects!  My plan:

• complete UFOs, both scrapping and sewing
• move on to new projects.

This should keep me going for a number of weeks.  I'll also try very hard to get back into the groove and post my progress weekly.  So, be watching for reports of coming "finishes".

Till next time...

Greetings from a Snow Bird

Greetings Blog Friends,

It is good to be back after a 4 week unplanned hiatus.  I guess I have some catching up to do...

I know you have questions re: the title...Snow Bird?  Yes, dear friends, Denis and I were Snow Birds for the month of February to Panama City Beach on Florida's Panhandle Gulf Coast.  We rented a nice little house just steps from the beach.  Although the weather was colder, rainier and foggier than usual, there were some good days for beach sitting and sunset watching.

And, yes, I took my sewing machine, so the items I showed you in the past two posts were made/worked on in Florida.  Rainy days became sewing days, so no time was wasted while we were away from home.  I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, since we took advantage of each sunny day to get outside and do as much as we can.  

So, what did we do, you wonder?

• Saw 2 plays done by community theaters in PCB
• Attended a dinner show with musical entertainment
• Watched a Mardi Gras parade (and collected beads!)

• Went on a dolphin watching cruise
• Attended a local quilt show

• Explored the Emerald Coast (Panhandle)
• Took a trip to Jacksonville for a train show.  
• Spent time on the beach (Gulf and Atlantic coast)

• Shopped
• Watched some glorious sunsets

Most importantly.....did not see or shovel any SNOW!  LOL!

We took our time traveling to and from Florida and tried to break up the long drive with some sight-seeing along the way...

• Drove past the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.  Yes, this photo is in color, but it is clouded by the huge snowflakes of the snow squall we encountered while passing through!

• Visited and viewed murals on the River Walls in Cape Girardeau, MO and Paducha, KY

• Toured the USS Alabama, WWII Battleship in Mobile, AL

• Visited Beale St. in downtown Memphis

• Toured Beauvoir, home of Jefferson Davis in Biloxi, MS

• Explored the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL

• Spent an afternoon and evening on Broadway St in Nashville, TN (one day ahead of the tornado)

The Ryman

• Viewed the quilts at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.

My favorite "Mt. St. Helens"

It was a great five weeks respite from the cold and snow of winter in Wisconsin.

Since we've been back home, we have been doing laundry, catch-up on mail and email, doctor appts, grocery shopping, and generally getting back in the swing of life at home amid this evolving Coronavirus situation.   More on how we are coping with that next post.

I leave you for this week with a great sunset view from our last night in Florida:

Think happy thoughts...Till next time...