July Monthly Mini

 This was the last of the 3 monthly minis I made back in early June to get me through my challenging summer.  I had minimal energy at this point and had to scramble to get something made in time. Once again, the “orphan block” box came to the rescue. 

 I literally grabbed a little block and started adding others willy nilly. It was very freeing and lifted my spirits as I chugged along. I used one of my favorite Betsy Chutchian yellows on the back. 

 There are so many great names for pot luck quilts of this type, but I settled on “Scramble” as it seemed the most fitting!

Let’s see what our fellow makers have mixed together this month.

Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter) 

Cyndi (Busy Thimble)

Grace (City Mouse Quilter)

Barb (Fun with Barb)

Gladi (Gladi’s Quilts)

Shasta (High Road Quilter)

Nancy (Joy For Grace)

Joy (Joyful Quilter)

Julie (Julie K Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Katy (Katy Quilts)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Meredithe (Pomegranate and Chintz)

Angie (Quilting on the Crescent)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Janet (Rogue Quilts)

Tazzie (Tazzie Quilts)

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

Community Supper is on display again!

 

I wanted to let you all know that our “Community Supper” quilt will be on display at “Maine Quilts 2022” in Augusta, Maine from July 27^th through the 30^th.

 My friend Meliss told me that they made sure to display it so that both the front and back show, which means that they will see your block on the front and the “sentiment” that you wrote above our beloved pandemic on the back.

It is a wonderful show and Maine is a great place to visit at any time of the year so I hope some of you will be able to get to see it. 

Back

   Label with all 80 names  

 Since so many of you have asked… I am on my sixth dosage change for my current medication, and if I can’t function better than I have for the past few months, the next step will be steroids (bla!!). So, fingers crossed, this will start working and get me through until I have the surgery to remove my thymus (along with the pesky tumor). I love the surgeon already. He is very approachable and explained everything in plain understandable terms. The good news is that there is only a slight chance that the tumor is cancerous, so I move to the back of the line and can’t get in until mid September. I am thankful and pray for those who do have so much more to worry about than me.

 As for the monthly minis – July and August are set on automatic post mode, and when this current regime starts working, I should be able to get September’s out too.

 Thanks for sticking with me. I wish you all the joys of summer!

June Monthly Mini

This month’s mini is thanks to Pam Buda (Homespun Quilts). I used her easy to follow pattern called “Garden Basket”. 

 I started this in May so I wanted the “garden squares” to have some Spring colors. I used Pam’s delicious browns (each triangle is a different fabric) for the basket and her lovely soft pinks as a background.

You can find the pattern and her fabulous fabrics on her website (here).

I'm calling this one "Chin Up"! As much as I loathe talking about medical issues (especially mine!), I feel I must tell all of you why I have not been present in blogland for a while. I have been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. Basically, it is a chronic condition that affects how the nerves tell your muscles what to do. Needless to say, it has been a challenge to keep up with daily duties and thus my blog reading and commenting have suffered. I have great hopes that my upcoming surgery will bring me back to my crazy self by the end of the summer.

 It progressed quite quickly and when I realized I would not be able to quilt for quite a while (I can hear your gasps and I truly appreciate your kind thoughts!), I made 3 monthly minis. They are all on automatic posts at the end of each month so you won’t have to miss seeing all the delightful minimaker’s creations.

 Don’t worry about me, I am like a boomerang that always comes back! I know I will be in the pink (and yellow and cheddar and madder and …) again soon.

 A special thank you to all you crazy mini quilters! If you are new and want to jump in, please e-mail me and I will make every effort to get you up on the list.

 Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter) 

Cyndi (Busy Thimble)

Grace (City Mouse Quilter)

Barb (Fun with Barb)

Gladi (Gladi’s Quilts)

Shasta (High Road Quilter)

Nancy (Joy For Grace)

Joy (Joyful Quilter)

Julie (Julie K Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Katy (Katy Quilts)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Meredithe (Pomegranate and Chintz)

Angie (Quilting on the Crescent)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Janet (Rogue Quilts)

Tazzie (Tazzie Quilts)

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

Happy Summer to all!

May Monthly Mini - A Tribute to My Mother

 This was my first Mother’s Day without my wonderful mother. It was hard on all of us but especially for my younger sister who was with her almost daily for the past 6 years.

 So, this month’s mini is a gift for my sister. I made it with the (very well worn) fabric from our mother’s favorite skirt. Kathleen would often lay Mum’s clothes out for her the night before and nine times out of ten, she would come out of her room in her favorite skirt. It always made my sister laugh. 

 The mother and child scrap was in a bag of goodies from Carol Younce. I’ve been slowly picking away at these scraps (thank you again Carol!!) and this one seemed perfect for the center. I hand quilted a little heart in the flowers. 

 I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Let’s see what others have stitched in this merry, merry month of May. 

Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter) 

Cyndi (Busy Thimble)

Grace (City Mouse Quilter)

Barb (Fun with Barb)

Gladi (Gladi’s Quilts)

Shasta (High Road Quilter)

Nancy (Joy For Grace)

Joy (Joyful Quilter)

Julie (Julie K Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Katy (Katy Quilts)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Meredithe (Pomegranate and Chintz)

Angie (Quilting on the Crescent)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Janet (Rogue Quilts)

Tazzie (Tazzie Quilts)

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

Humble Quilts Antique block challenge

 I opted to do Lori’s (HumbleQuilts) antique block challenge before I realized it was due in May which is always a busy time for me. In my usual form, I waited until the last minute to begin and finished just in time! 

 I love anything with madder prints. I had a few of these antique (c1880) blocks, but chose this one as it was the most “square”. And, look at the different width of these seam allowances. 

It’s funny how we get so hung up on perfection. There are so many 19^th century blocks that are extremely wonky. I often wonder if that is why they were abandoned. 

So… Wendy to the rescue with this sweet piece. I just trimmed it, added a coping strip and bordered it with simple half square triangles. Obviously, I have no shortage of madder reproductions. I only pulled from my scrap bag. No yardage was harmed during the making of this mini!

 Check out Lori’s blog (HumbleQuilts) to see all the little gems.

And, may we all take some time today to remember those who went before us. 

Happy Memorial Day. 

 

Humble Quilts Doll Quilt Swap

 

Time to share Lori’s (HumbleQuilts) doll quilt swap. How lucky am I? I received this adorable little gem made by Carolyn Hansen.

Look at this cute label too. 

 And, if that wasn’t enough, she included a super project bag and gorgeous sewing rollup with notions inside. Thanks a million Carolyn!! 

 Be sure to check out Lori’s “linky party” (Humble Quilts) to see all the adorable little quilts.

10th Annual Sweet Retreat

 This weekend the “Seven Sistahs” celebrated our 10^th year of quilting together. We had a lovely place on Wells Beach that suited our needs perfectly. Maine reached record high temperatures on Saturday, but we stayed nice and cool in our cottage by the sea. 

 We chugged along with our projects, both by hand and machine. 

 I dumped a huge bag of scraps on the floor and watched the sharks circle and then swoop in for the kill. Kathy and Fotini just dove in.

Karen B. covered her body with her colorful choices.

What fun! 

I finished a lot of bindings and was able to baste this little piece and get a start on some of the applique. 

The one thing we all noticed this year is that as we get older, we accomplish more eating, drinking, and chatting than sewing. But, with all the world’s problems now solved, we can get a jump on next year’s projects! 

 Hope you all had a super weekend with friends!