Coronacation Day 1

Spring break is now 2 weeks instead of 1 as our school district figures out how to shift to online education.  For now that means that I have some time to sew.  Preparation and work are sure to follow, but for now I have done all that I can to prepare.  Teachers will all report next week to figure out what the plan is. 

My kids at school last week were starting to realize how absolutely surreal all of this is.  They told me that they felt like they were living in a movie and that they would wake up from the dream soon to realize that none of it is real.  They are all too young to remember 9-11, but it felt a lot like this. 

Because the abnormality is likely to continue, I thought that a quilt could commemorate the experience. 

My plan is a block a day for the duration of the experience.  If everything gets miraculously better soon it will be a very small quilt.  I tried a couple of different blocks before deciding on this simple house block.  All the bits come from 2 inch strips, so it is quick and easy to make with scraps that I already have on hand.   

 This "house" is a 3.5 inch block and the "roof" is just a flying geese block that is 3.5 by 2 (unfinished sizes).  I think I will play with lots of different blocks and layouts for the house.  For today I went with a simple floor plan.
I used an easy angle and companion angle ruler to cut the roof, but there are so many ways to make flying geese.  I might try a different method later.
Step 1, cut the pieces.  For the roof, either use specialty rulers with 2 inch strips or any of these methods:
Here is a no triangle method on you tube
Here is a two at a time method on you tube
Here is a PDF 4 at a time method with different measurements
Here is the traditional flip and sew method

After you make a roof with sky that is 3.5 by 2 inches unfinished, it is time to cut out your house.

 Today my house has 1 door and no windows.  From the main fabric cut the following pieces
1 - 2 x 3.5 inch rectangle
2 - 2 x 1.5 inch rectangles
Then in a contrasting door fabric, add
1 - 2 by 1.5 inch rectangle

 Sew the door into the middle of your two small house rectangles.  Press toward the door.

Now sew all three stories of your house together.  press the seams away from the center toward the top and bottom of the house.
Today my house is sunny and bright and the sky is blue.  For the first day of spring break the beach was packed!  I went out for early voting in the primary and to get some bathroom remodeling supplies from the hardware store.  The bathroom got torn apart before we realized that both of our college kids would be back again before summer.  We are now madly trying to get it all put back together again as all Florida state colleges and universities have shifted to online learning for now.  Ryan kept insisting that he didn't want to come home until they started cancelling all of the things he wanted to do at UF.  Kurt went and fetched him this morning.  He is a fan of asynchronous lectures for now because he can listen to them at 1.5 speed.  There is a rumor that one of the Florida cases of COVID lived in his dorm.  There are a lot of rumors like that going around.
Things are still changing quickly.  As of Friday I still had students who thought they were going on cruises for spring break.  First the school declared that anyone leaving the country for break would face a mandatory quarantine for 14 days after return.  Then the cruise lines ended up closing anyway and made it all a moot point.
Most of the day was spent cancelling academic teams planned trip to Disney for the state competition next month.  As Disney is closed until further notice and field trips are now prohibited, it seemed like a logical though painful decision.  I tried to clean up my room as best I could knowing that custodians would be in to do "deep cleaning" over the break.   I'm a little embarrassed to have them see how messy my storeroom is.  I might go in though and get some general organization done.  I tried to bring home things I might need to teach online, but a lot is still up in the air.
Ryan is at the comic book store and Sydney is sleeping over with a friend.  I'm guessing there won't be a lot more of being out and about, so I hope they are enjoying it while it lasts.  I think that the Spain and France are now having mandatory quarantines with Italy still locked down.  Nothing mandatory here yet, though working from home is the new normal.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Turquoise

I think that I will get a lot more done with teal this month.  Spring break has just been extended by a month as all Florida schools are closed for the next two weeks.  I feel that some serious quilting time in the works.  There are some tutorials and blocks I've been wanting to try.  This might be a good time to cross some UFOs off the list.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Turquoise Love

Anna and Ryan were both home last weekend and I'm a bit behind on teal. Today is a great day to catch up though.  I can't think of anything better given the general news than to stay inside all day and sew.  This partially completed stack of string blocks should finish out my necessary allotment.  Then I will move on to Sprouts or possibly Soul Searching.  So many blocks to enjoy and no need to go out into the big scary world. 

ScrapHappy Saturday - Leap Year

I must admit to feeling done with orange.  The one extra day this month has done me in.  I'm so excited to be starting on teal for March.

Spring break is in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping to make some nice progress on the Snail's Trails.

I managed to finish the Temecula Quilts sampler.  It just needs borders.  I don't have any yardage, but any solid color should work for the border I think.
How was your orange month?  Misterlinky is below, please share your accomplishments.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Orange Saturday Number 4

It is a busy time of year for teachers.  Monday was originally scheduled as a holiday for the kids and a workday for teachers, but we had to give it back as a hurricane makeup.   

Science fair is in full swing and lacrosse has just started.  None of my own children are competing at fair this year which is a first in at least 10 years.  I will still head over to the mall this morning though and support my students.  There are 150 kids from our school competing this year.  Then I need to pop into school to do some prep for a lab next week.  So many good things fill up the days and makes them rush by.  

I was glad to have gotten most of my orange blocks done early this month, but I'm not at all sure what to do with one more orange Saturday for leap day next week.  I hope  your orange blocks are all coming along nicely.  

ScrapHappy Saturday Orange Week 3

Beach re-nourishment has moved down to our little section of the beach.  Many bright lights and big trucks now start moving very early in the morning.  Big trucks make lots of beeping noises every time they back up.  Apparently they back up a lot during their time dumping sand on the beach.  Hopefully they will be done in about three weeks and all the sand that disappeared during the last hurricane will be restored. 

Orange month is coming along nicely.  Here are orange blossom blocks added to the collection.  Honestly, I've been spending more time working on teal snail's trail blocks.  No photo of those today though.  I'll be back at it soon, but first we have to go take Sydney's car into the shop to have an oil leak looked at.  She has to park in the garage now that the park is closed.

Winter Sunday

 We walked to the south on the beach yesterday to see where they were starting the beach re-nourishment.  This was as close as we could get.  They have moved a big bulldozer into the park next to our house and we have seen surveyors out taking measurements.  They will have to be done before sea turtle nesting season starts, so I think it will move pretty quickly.

 Then today we walked north and there was a surfing competition of some sort near a different beach park.  I think someone got married yesterday.  There were lots of flower leis strewn about as if they had tossed them into the ocean at the end of the ceremony.

 I got lots of orange hexies prepped during the super bowl last Sunday.  They are all sorted into groups now so that I can stitch them together.

Today I have been adding some more blocks to the snails trail/storm at sea quilt.  I ran out of the pieces that I cut last weekend, so I think I will put a movie on Netflix and have a little cutting party. I'll try out some of the sashing and add in a few lime and lavenders too I think.  This Sea Swept Quilt is my inspiration, though I think I might use slightly different proportions.   I ordered some more blue-green fabric as I didn't have nearly enough for a king sized quilt.  I added in a few oranges too, to make sure the order was enough to qualify for free shipping.  It will be nice to have a little more variety in the scrap bins again. 
I'm linking up with Slow Stitching Sunday and with Oh Scrap! today.  Be sure to visit for hand stitching and scrappy projects galore.  

ScrapHappy Saturday Orange Number 2

There are three orange Soul Searching blocks up on the wall next to last week's string blocks.  There were lots of things going on during evenings this week, so not much sewing got done.  Hopefully I can make up for that this weekend though.  Another cold front moved through, so staying inside in the warmth sounds like a nice Saturday plan.  

Superbowl Sunday 02-02-2020

The Superbowl is tonight.  I would be hard pressed to remember exactly who is playing, but I know it isn't New England.  We don't have a party to go to tonight, so I will be able to get plenty of slow stitching done between commercials.  I went to pull out orange diamond hexies so that I could start sewing them together, but there weren't any!  Orange is a funny color that way.  So I dug out the orange scrap bin and got some hexies ready for prep work tonight.

My slow stitching time is open again now that the Four Squared Scrap Quilt is finished.  I had to take it away from Kurt for long enough to get a photo.  It's been chilly again and a having a quilt to snuggle with on the couch is quite handy right now.  It seems wrong when it is chilly at the beach.  It is supposed to be back into the 80s by the middle of the week though, so I won't worry too much. 

 Here is the back.  working to use up all the odds bits and pieces that don't go with my bright and happy rainbow motifs.

I've been experimenting with patterns for a new quilt for the master bedroom. These Churn Dash blocks with chains were my first attempt.  They got a thumbs down for not being "beachy" enough. 

Take 2 is a Snail's Trail Block.  With or without the Storm at Sea lattice?  I haven't gotten quite that far yet. I need to figure out the rotation.  I think I should be making two different blocks instead of having them all rotate the same way.  I messed up one of the blocks entirely, but I think I've got the idea now.  

I'm linking up with Kathy for Slow Stitching Sunday and with Cynthia for Oh Scrap!  Sunday is a nice time to catch up with everyone.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Jumping into Orange

A new month is always a new color at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and this month is going to be all about orange!  I know orange is tricky.  Lots of people just don't like it.  I have to admit that I don't have very much at all.  But I dug deep and came up with enough to make these string blocks.  I have to say, I really like the way the orange fabrics all came together.  I had doubts while I was working.  Some of the oranges were pale and peachy, some were very red.  They all came together nicely though, and I'm glad to have given them all a shot.  Giving every color a turn is what it is all about and I'm glad these strings all got sewn into blocks.