Happy Thanksgiving

 The end of the year is zooming toward us!  So many projects to finish and so few Saturdays to get it done.   We are with family today, but I was able to start setting up my new sewing space before we left.  Hopefully I will be able to do some mass block assembly in the last few weeks of the year.  I haven't even started to think about blocks for next year yet!  Maybe that will be my project for the trip home.  I  always have so many great rainbow blocks that I want to make.   I will need to start thinking about what needs to be finished to be able to start some new projects.

I hope you are all able to spend some quality time sewing this holiday season.  I peeked at the new quiltville mystery yesterday, but I wasn't at all tempted to start something new with so many projects on the cusp of completion.  

After the Storm

Ah to be home again.  Even better than being back though, was being gone during the storm. We were able to fly out with no issues at all just due to the lucky fact that we had decided to use airline miles which made it easier to drive the longer distance to the Miami Airport.  Normally we would fly out of the Orlando Airport which was closed for the storm.   Many of the people at the resort already were scheduled to fly back through Orlando though, and when they were unable to go home again, our room got changed to this upgraded Villa at no additional charge!  What a nice way to start the vacation as we arrived to texts of the power being gone back at home.  

The resort was small, just a little cove in between mountain ranges really, but we didn't really take advantage of the activities they offered, instead lounging by the beach or pool while sipping on icy beverages.   It was lovely just to read books and nap between meals and swims.   

The storm back home was causing lots of beach erosion.   Most of the walkways over the dunes are destroyed and the blue house on our normal dog walking route has been condemned.   It has always amazed us that it was able to survive so close to the water, and this time it just didn't quite make it.   It was already quite run down though it was almost always rented out.  The green and yellow houses next door are still intact, though most of the yards and landscaping have washed away.   Nicole wasn't a very strong storm, but it just managed to hit the beaches which were already a bit rough after Ian.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Storm Days

I hope that we are off safely waiting out the storm in a less ocean front location right now.  I am scheduling this to post on Saturday though it is only Wednesday.  We are getting early reports of storm surge and lost dune walkovers.   I was so moved by all the local friends who called to offer up places to stay.  Hoping for the best, but also feeling like we just did this!  I hope that you are all finding time to sew today.   I will try to check in again when I am settled back after the storm. 

ScrapHappy Saturday - The End Begins

What a week!  Just when I think things will calm down.  Such is the way with a new job though as we all figure out exactly what is going on.  They are painting my office this weekend and my new desk is on the way.   I still need to get settled into the new sewing space as well.  I am tempted to just start moving everything downstairs after packing it all up while Sydney was home sick last weekend.   We will see what the day brings.   

Hopefully everyone is starting to think about block assembly.  This is the time to pull out collections and see what is needed to finish up the top.  I encourage you to dig into the brown and black bins for a few extra blocks.  People tend to shy away from the darker colors in rainbow tops, but they can add a nice grounding effect and allow the colors to shine even brighter.  Give it a try!  They are only scraps after all.  You can always hide an ugly block on the back if you don't like it or add it to the orphan bin.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Fall and Fun

I took a group of kids on a college tour on Thursday.  This is them walking into one of the buildings on the Florida Polytechnic campus.  If you have driven from Orlando to Tampa, you have seen the big cage like framework of the main building on campus.   It was a fun day for the kids with no problems and we came home with the same 42 kids we started out with.  All just what you need on field trip day! We also managed to have the gifted meetings that were scheduled during the hurricane so hopefully we can start getting back to normal again. 

No sewing photos to share today, so here is a sunrise instead.   Sydney called yesterday sick with strep and wanted to come home to be sick here instead of her dorm room.   A hasty pack up of the sewing room followed.  I will start setting up the new sewing room at some point to avoid the constant packing and unpacking, but with Kurt working on remodeling the bathroom, it is still quite a bit of a mess most of the time.  

How are your sewing projects coming along?  There will not be "official" colors for the next two months.  The end of the year is reserved for assembly of blocks and finishing of tops.   However, if you still feel the block piecing vibe, I encourage you to dig into the browns and blacks to make some sense of the darks before the end of the year is officially here.  

 

ScrapHappy Fall Fun

 It has turned to fall here and pretending to have seasons is quite fun.   Not a lot of sewing time this week, but all sorts of goodness.   Sunday there was a ladies tea to celebrate a new grandbaby for a teacher friend who retired recently.  I brought a  quilt. Blogger isn't letting me upload any photos this morning, but it was blue with swirls in  snowball and nine patch arrangement.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Fall Fun

 

Things are finally starting to settle down again.  I decided on this sashing solution for the Carpenter's Star blocks.  It uses up some of the extra HST and extends the pattern to help the blocks join.  I am starting to see a nice secondary diamond where all of the blocks come together.  It also will make the quilt slightly larger, which is a bonus.  Given the block size, it is harder to get things to fit.  With smaller blocks it is easy to add an extra row or two, but these stars are giant!  There should be time today to finish the rest.   I have a few housekeeping things to do and a couple of work tasks to catch up on, but generally things are settling down again to a more normal level.   The post hurricane craziness has settled.  How are your scraps coming together?  I must admit to being completely out of contact with the world lately.  I look forward to catching up on that today as well.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Getting Back to Normal

 The hurricane was a 4 day inconvenience for my part of Florida.  For others it was much more.  We spent a few days without electricity or internet and a few hours picking up debris and reassembling windblown downspouts.   My main consequences came from the 3 days of school lost and having to reschedule all of that.  It has been busy!  Technically we have a three day weekend with a "work from home" day on Monday.  I am scheduled for a college event in Orlando though which should be fun.   Kurt has been working on a bathroom remodel for what used to be Sydney's bathroom and will now be part of my quilting studio.  I think we are scheduled to pick up the shower enclosure this morning and finalize tile choices.   

Looking forward to some sewing time too of course.  I did lots of binding during the storm, but having a machine and iron again will be a joy!   I do remember digging into the brown bin to make one last Carpenter's Star block.   Brown has been long overlooked.  I am hoping to make some layout decisions.  Sashing would make the sewing together easier with all those seams, but I kind of like the secondary patterns when the blocks come together.   It will be fun trying out different ideas.  Misterlinky is below. Please share your progress.   The beginning of the end is near!

ScrapHappy Saturday - Waiting

It is a new month!  I must confess to not having finished my baby blues.   Most of my sewing this week has been hand sewing of binding as we wait for the power to be restored after Ian.   October is scheduled either for lime and light green or for light neutrals as we work to finish off the rainbow.   Please feel free to finish up the blocks that you are going to need for your quilts.   Assembly is right around the corner!

The storm damage was minimal here, we still have water though we have been asked to conserve.   We have made quite a dent in the nonperishable food stash, but with everything around us back to normal, it feels odd to sit in a dark house.  Fortunately, it is quite cool post Ian, so not having an air conditioner has not been a problem.   I am sure most of the fridge and freezer will need to be tossed, but I guess this is a good excuse to do a little cleaning

I think we will try to reattach the downspouts to the gutters today, the upper elbow was knocking against the sliders in the wee hours of Thursday when the eye of the storm was approaching.  That was our mostivation to fasten the last of the shutters to wait out the worst.   The eye was large and lasted most of the morning on Thursday before the bottom of the eyewall made its way through with much less ferocity than the top.   The surfers were out in force, whooping and shouting in the waves.  I won't have much contact today, as my computer has just switched to battery saving mode. Enjoy your sewing, and welcome to the new month!

ScrapHappy Saturday - Storm Prep

 

It will be a weekend of watching the tropics.  Sydney is home from Gainesville for her first weekend visit, so sewing is not going to be high on the priority list.   Kurt was gone all week, and he is back just in time to start following Tropical Tidbits for the latest storm updates.   There might be a couple of days off midweek to sew the windy days away.   How are your projects all coming along?  Misterlinky is below.  Please keep us all up to date on your progress.