Already Regrouping

So much for the B&W CQ. I made one block and decided NO. I cannot do another 2 color CQ. I'm still using the Marilyn "silkies" I bought but now I'm thinking I'll go with pastels and more of the old linens I have. This, after buying all that black & white fancy stuff. Oh well. I'll have to dream up something to do with it.

All of that means that already I am behind with the CQJP.

But, here are some photos of two quilts I have been working on for a friend's new baby girl and his 5 year old. I could not bear the thought of giving the new baby a quilt without having one for the big sister:

One is a strip quilt. I'm going to do the disappearing 9 patch for the other one.

Also, a couple of mug rugs that I was making for gifts but didn't get finished. This one was just a cute scrap that was in a bag I bought from Etsy. 

A Craftsy pattern.

Then this mess. Surely I can come up with something creative to do with these trimmings??  Put them out for the birds to build nests maybe?

This is a pretty big year for me. I will be 65 in March. I could retire this year. I would like to hang in there until next March when I would reach my full retirement age and get more money. But  I'm feeling pretty burned out right now, and like it's time to move on. There's a lot I want to do while I am in good shape physically and mentally (which has always been debatable). I expect to stay in good health for a long, long time but not taking anything for granted. I enjoy what I do but the world is changing and I find that I'm just not that interested in technology, which is where everything in my profession is headed. I do not care about the difference in ePubs and PDFs and WMAs and MP3s. I'm tired of digital this and downloadable that. It's fascinating and boring at the same time if that makes any sense.

So stay tuned. I feel big changes in the air.

Susan: No CQ

Ugh. I fell down on the job completely this week. I still have a section traced, and another idea for a seam I want to do, but I just didn't get there. It was yet another of those weeks where life beat up my calendar and the calendar lost.

I did get to do a very minimal amount of sewing. I put these house blocks together last Monday. There were about 70 of them donated to me, so these are the red and blue ones. This goes off to American Heroes for a child who has lost a parent.

Then, Saturday, the final stitching I'm going to do on my Comfort and Joy Christmas quilt. This is only about half the blocks, but it's way past time to be finished, and I don't see myself doing the other half, so I'm calling it over.

Today, I cut some strips and cornerstones to put together 12 BOM blocks from last year, but didn't sew a single stitch. I'm SO woefully behind on everything I planned to do the first six months of the year. I think it's time to toss that plan and start over with a new one. Sometimes we just can't predict what's going to happen, and it's silly to keep fighting the current.

Deborah: CQ, Baby Quilts (lots of photos)

A few more seams done on the CQ:

I love French knots, can you tell?

Debra send me these adorable curtain panels to make baby/toddler quilts this summer for a friend who is expecting. She has a 3 year old, so how can I make the new baby a quilt and not the little girl?

So cute.

Last but not least, my niece's baby will be a year old in July. I am so glad I held on to these Children's Corner patterns. I'm not sure you can find them any more. I made my daughters clothes from these patterns when they were little.I haven't done any smocking in a long time so I guess I'll find out if I still have the ability. But I love these old-fashioned children's clothes. My favorite is the little smocked coat and hat. I made that for Allison out of red corduroy. So cute.

I guess I made up for not posting last week.  I'm just glad I didn't wait until 5 am tomorrow morning to try & post something.  I've gotten off track a little lately but I feel that momentum building again! :-)

Susan: Revealing Nothing Stitched

I don't know where this week went - well, I do, but it did it so fast! I did not one single stitch of any kind in anything that could be called embroidery or crazy quilting this week. I did finish these for Debra, though:

I also showed my top-secret project on Tuesday in the For the Boys hop. This is the first time I've machine quilted since I gave up my longarm in 2005. The walking foot makes a huge difference!

Other than that, I've done a lot of pressing, organizing and some cutting, too. Just not a lot to show anyone yet! And no stitching.

Debra: Sewing those 21 Baby Quilts

 

The quilts on the right are finished. The tops on the left are waiting.  See what I will be doing between now and Thanksgiving.  Luckily, I have some great help.  It's been very interesting to me that when I asked help arrived.  Sometimes asking is the hardest part.

Debra: Bambi House Quilts

Sometimes if I keep my ears open, an opportunity arises to serve the community through quilts.  Recently I found out that one of my community contacts has the privilege of going into a women's prison unit to deliver baby items to mothers and their newborn babies.  Cheryl, who has been active with Prison Fellowship (through Angel Tree) organized a baby shower for women who are living in a halfway house environment.  She told me that last year she saved the smaller quilts I gave her for Angel Tree to give to these mothers.

Right then and there I decided she needed a new stack of quilts for this year.  So with the help of friends, we are sewing some 40-45" baby quilts.  I have a panel set I am contributing and others are using their own fabrics.  I still have a few panels, if you are interested.  This year I'll attach a little stuffed teddy bear to each quilt. 

The Houston Quilt Show opens tomorrow so I'll be heading to Houston a few days but when I return it's going to be peddle to the metal to get some baby quilts sewn.

A special thanks to my friends here who are sewing tops! 
Women supporting women is a very good idea.