Sunday Finishing

 

I finished the yellow block of Leap Year last night while we were finishing off watching Shitt's Creek as a family.   

This was the very last Dear Jane block, left side number 6 which is also known as tumbling blocks.  It was English paper pieced.   Though I haven't done much of it, the inset seams worked well that way.  

This is the final border, the right side, ready to be sewn on.  Hard to believe that all these years later I will finally have a finished quilt top.  I started this quilt in 2013 right after finishing my Tiny Tuesday Midget quilt from Sentimental stitches.   A lot happened at first, most of the top was finished before the end of that year.  Then it got set aside, and the longer a quilt is in hibernation, the harder it is to wake it up again.  It will be done today though, at least the top part.  The quilting is another story.  I'm  linking up with Slow Stitching Sunday and Oh Scrap! today.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Last Pink Weekend

 I hope that all of your pink plans are wrapping up.   I feel very done with the rosy shades and ready to move on to bright and shiny yellow for February.  

Dear Jane has 3 out of four borders sewn on and just three more blocks to finish for the fourth.  There is an end in sight!  I made this green block on Wednesday and it took SO long!  HST blocks for the center pinwheel, the orange peels appliqués on top followed by reverse applique of the circle over that.  I changed up the diamonds on top to use a failed attempt at pinwheels.   The entire top should be complete before the day is done.  

Pink was a good month for me this year.  I think I've added a few more crumb blocks to the mix since this photo was taken, but I definitely used LOTS of bits from the pink bins.  I don't have quite so much yellow fabric to work with, but it will be fun to dig in and see what  I can find.   

Dear Jane Marathon day

I took a day off of work yesterday and decided to sew.   Its been busy and I just needed a breather.   The blocks that are left on Dear Jane at this point are mostly tricky in some way.  This one is called tumbling blocks and has all these inset seams!  I will do English Paper piecing on this one for sure.   

Then there is this one, it was simple enough, I don't know why it waited so long.   I think there are three more to go?   Two need some hand work and I just didn't get to the third by the time everyone came home.   I ran out of freezer paper, and spent the day running around the house finding other things to use instead.   I think I finished only three blocks completely, but two more are well underway.  

I'm usually pretty done by the end of the day right now.  I get home in time to walk the dog and start dinner and then I'm usually ready to collapse.  Seeing the finish line though, I will have to try to make some progress even on school days.  I think I'm settling back into a pattern again with the new semester.

Anna is back at school in time for class "shopping" and Ryan is all settled in with 2 and a half in person classes!   Sydney is glad to be back to brick and mortar, the online learning was OK for a while, but it started to take an emotional toll over time.  
 

Slowly on a Sunday

 

I had a little burst of Dear Jane sewing yesterday and finished off the left side!   It looks like I just need 8 more for the right side and this quilt will be DONE.   I'll have to go back at some point and figure out when I started this girl.   I used to have the kids pose with the blocks, and they were all pretty tiny at the time.   This is the ultimate in rainbow scrap quilts, so be sure to visit Oh Scrap! if you are working on something scrappy today.  

I just need to finish up the applique sewing on these last three blocks.  The closer I get to being done, the more liberty I take with the design.   The ones that are left are tricky in general, so I am simplifying and going for the feel of the pattern rather than trying to get every detail perfect.   There wasn't supposed to be a diamond in the middle of that teal block, but I just felt that it needed more color.    Lots of people have slow stitching to share at Kathy's Quilts, so be sure to pop by if you have hand work saved up for the day of rest.     

This yellow guy was an odd mix of applique and paper piecing.  You could see curved seams in the original block, but my mind just said "nope" and I moved on with life.  

It was nice to enjoy the weekend after a busy week at school.   We are on a block schedule this year, and the new semester started on Tuesday.  So that meant a batch of new kids.  New names to remember, procedures to establish, a second first day of the school year.  Most teachers are redoing a class that they had first semester, but I am switching preps which means a lot more time to get ready every day.  I've taught Honors Biology for a lot of years, but never in a time of COVID.  Social distancing means modified labs and the I still have kids e-learning which means that everything is digital.   Just when I thought that my job was settling into a routine, BAM it is all new again.  They are starting to vaccinate teachers in Florida, but only those who are over 65.  It doesn't seem to be going well so far, so my turn could be a long way off.  The governor declared teachers as critical infrastructure workers, but we are not critical enough to get vaccine priority.  

There was a rocket launch this morning.  A Space X Falcon 9 going into sun synchronous orbit which meant that it went directly overhead.  Usually they head out to sea.   We were late on our beach walk this morning because of rain and were just getting back home as it went up.  I have the usual weekend chores t finish up, but I hope to get that left side attached before the end of the weekend.  
   

Still One More Pink Saturday

 

I hope that everyone is off to a great start on PINK!  As hard as it is to believe, there is still one more pink Saturday after today.  If you are done with pink, consider pulling out a UFO or getting some of your other colors sorted and ready for this year's projects.   I pulled out Dear Jane this week.  Just 12 more border blocks to be done with this one.  The pinks are done, so I'm moving on down the list.   How are you pinks coming along?  The linky tool is below.  Please share with us all and then visit others to give them encouragement.

 

Monday Feels Like Sunday

Tomorrow is a new semester at school.  Sydney will be going back in person for the first time since we were all sent home last March.   While I was happy to keep her home and safe, the e-learning is getting more difficult over time and she is one of many who will be returning in person tomorrow.  She asked for black masks in a child size.  Anna wanted more from of sailing fabric.  I don't have any blues to match exactly so I used a variety of greenish blue hues.  I had cut out some atom fabric earlier and blue goes with everything.  I'm awfully tired of mask sewing now, but I'll add the elastic and be done with this batch.  A friend from school wants some for her wedding, and I fixed some elastic for another, but after that  I should be done for now.  

I finished off the orange block of hand quilting on Leap Year and so started on the yellow.  

The plan had been to sew on Dear Jane today, and I did get one block done this morning.  This is block number 12 on the left side.  I stitched a tiny applique diamond to the top and added it to the collection.   Most of the day though was spent moving my sewing room -- AGAIN!   Since we've been here I have moved my machine several times.   Ultimately, Sydney's room is meant to be the sewing studio, but until then I am camped out in Ryan's room.  His spring break was tacked on to the end of the winter vacation, so we are unlikely to see him again until summer.  He called last night and was able to switch his schedule around to have in person classes!  Two and a half of them.  Good news indeed.   Now I'm off to wrap my mind around having a new schedule tomorrow.  I've traded 8 seniors in Capstone Research for 24 9th  graders in Honors Biology.  We are on block schedule now, and some unknown number of students will still  be learning from home, so even a familiar class will seem new again.   

Sunday Feels Like Saturday

 Having gotten caught up on pink, and with a three day weekend to look forward to, I decided to pull out a UFO.  Dear Jane has top and bottom borders, but it needs left and right to be finished properly.   

I pulled out the completed blocks and it looks like there are 10 out of the required 26.  Not bad at all.   

After a bit of time this morning, here is 11.   It is block number 6 on the left side and just needs a tiny bit of applique to be added to the wall.   I'll settle down for a little bit on hand work as soon as I hop over to Kathy's quilts to see what other hand stitching is going on this sunny Sunday.  It looks like she has pulled out a UFO as well.   With an extra day in the weekend, I will try to cross another block or two off the list.  Hopefully Dear Jane won't be a UFO for too much longer.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - SEW much Pink

 I think I finished pink!  I'm always tempted to add a new block right now, but that would be unwise.  I will admit to spending some time sketching out a new string block plan.  Not every month will include vacation days, and staying caught up will get harder.  So I will get some organizing done and sew some more masks.   What will you be sewing today?  Use the linky tool below to share your plans with us all.  There are still two more pink Saturdays after today, so don't worry if you aren't done yet.  

Sunday Sewing

 

I might be done with all the pink this month.  I'm having urges to start a string quilt, but I won't always have as much time to sew as I do right now, and I shouldn't start more than I can finish.  Yesterday I got the green lattice blocks sewn to go between the flower blocks and made some more stars and shooflies.   I've been making a few more pink hexies while watching TV with the girls in the evenings.   We are working our way slowly through Schitt's Creek.  Ryan didn't want to watch with us, but he is back at school now, so I think we might have some more hexie stitching evenings in store.  I've been trying to encourage everyone not to hang out alone in their own rooms all the time, but I haven't had much luck so far.  

It was too chilly this weekend for beach walking, so we settled for looking at the beach while walking the dog.   I think it will be warm again during the week, and then cold just in time for next weekend.  Funny how that always seems to be the way of things.  Next weekend we have an extra day for MLK and then we will start a new semester.  That makes this week exams, so it will be full of busy days.  I think I'll find a nice movie that I've already seen and spend some time putting those pink hexies together into a row.   First though, I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and Oh Scrap!  So many new quilts getting started in the new year, and lots of great quilts getting finished up from last year.   Seeing other people finishing quilts is almost as fun as finishing them yourself.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Pink Progress

I hope that your pink scraps are seeing some action so far.   I am enjoying a fresh start despite the news and everything that is happening in real life right now.  Sydney spent the week with strep throat.  It is a sad day when you are thankful for a bacterial infection because the alternatives are all scary.  Ryan is headed back to the University of Florida today.  All of his classes are online, but he still wanted to go and be there in person.  He had to plan his move in time so that he could get his scheduled Covid-19 test which is required for everyone.  Anna is a complicated story, I'm not sure if she will be allowed to return because she has been having some more serious issues that I haven't really discussed online.  She is stable now, but being away and unmonitored is a scary thought for her right now.  So I guess you can see why fabric is such a joy right now.  Sewing is uncomplicated, brings immediate satisfaction and doesn't require any scary decisions.   I am loving my pink scraps right now and very much looking forward to making more shoofly and silly star blocks today.   Uncomplicated, easy, and pretty.  Yes, that is a great plan.  Please share your pink progress so far.  It is fun to see other people creating and to hear about their own ups and downs.