Quilts and Camping

We will be camping for Easter. Not what I usually do for holidays but DH said he will hide Easter eggs for me if it will make me feel better. Since we got rid of our big old trailer and the site isn't ready for a new one yet we will be using the old tent trailer. DH is range master for the archery club so he will be busy all day and I will be sewing all day. I take one of my old hand crank machines with me and keep busy as long as there is daylight, and sometimes by Coleman lamp after dark. I usually get at least one full size quilt top done a year while camping.

This is the machine I take most often. It's a Jones CB, made in England probably in the early 30s. It is a dream to sew with; smooth running, perfect stitch, and always dependable. It will still be working when all of our computerized plastic marvels will be long gone. Don't tell my lovely Bernina I said that…







Some camping quilts from previous years:

 Double Irish Chain made for my oldest Daughter.  She doesn't get the cat. I cut out all the little pieces and sewed them all together before I realized it could be strip pieced. Oh well -- maybe next time.

Log Cabin. The only hard part about camp quilting is not having electricity for an iron. I have, in the past, used a flat iron heated on the propane stove but anymore I just finger press and wait until I get home to use the iron.

Postage Stamp was made with 2 shoe boxes full of 1/12 inch squares cut from scraps. It went together faster than I thought it would.

When the top is all together I bring it home and quilt it on my Bernina. I've quilted several full size quilts on a treadle before but I don't think I want to try it with a hand crank!

All Caught Up

I'm slipping on my writing here, but it has been a busy week. I'm all caught up on my various sew-a-longs, done some cleanup in the backyard, and repotted our Jade plants on the front porch.  The poor plants had gotten so big they were tipping over. Parsley and dill have been planted in the herb tubs in the driveway. I have to grow them in the front yard as the back is too shady for the veggies and herbs. Perfect for ferns and violets, though. St. Patricks day I got up early and put the corned beef in the crockpot and we took a trip up to the hills to do some maintenance on our campsite.I hadn't been up there for quite a while and the first thing I saw was our wisteria blooming. It smells so good!

We pulled some weeds, filled the bird feeders, and moved a big pile of bricks, starting to get ready to level the ground so we can get a new(er) trailer. Our last one was old and very leaky and falling apart so we got rid of it and are looking for another one. We came home and cooked the potatoes and cabbage for colcannon, made a caramelized banana clafouti and feasted.

I really like the Splendid Sampler so far, but I'm not so thrilled with the 365 Challenge right now. I'm getting tired of my colors and I'm not going to do any more 3" mitered corners. I don't like them. It's my quilt so I can substitute if I want to. Blah blah rant over. Circa 2016 is only once a week and doesn't take any time at all so no problem there.

Closed

Open

I found a nifty pattern to hold sewing items for traveling so I decided to give it a try yesterday. It went together easily. I used some fabric my sister gifted me. It only uses 3 fat quarters and some batting scraps. It holds the little Olfa cutting mat, my 2 ½ x 6 ½ ruler (I can't live without that!) rotary cutter, scissors, pens, seam ripper, and any other little thing I can think to put in there. Pins and needles can be put in the inner side of the flap. Now I can't wait to travel to give it a try.
The website where the pattern can be found is: down at the very bottom of the picture below.
http://www.p3designs.com/shop/Crafty-Things/p/P3116-Travel-Case-x11427038.htm

Retreat Report

Retreat was wonderful. It was at Mercy Center, a convent (or maybe an ex-convent, not sure) and had nice immaculate private rooms (bathroom down the hall) and the food was good; excellent salmon  Friday night and yesterdays stew and biscuits looked and smelled delicious even thought I couldn't eat it due to my gluten allergy.  No worries -- I aways bring alternative food for situations like this. Friday I put together charity quilt top, my "guilt quilt" -- once I had that done I could feel free to work on whatever I wanted.

My 18th charity quilt; I hope some little girl enjoys it.














I sat with three of my sewing buddies. Kind of bittersweet since it will probably be the last time we will all be together as two of them are moving. We had a great time and even sneaked off for a couple hours to the nearest quilt shop.

Our big well-lit room with view of rain and wild turkeys. Two of my friends busy at work; I think the other one was taking a nap. Two of us are night owls and probably wore her out. I think it was about 2 am when I got to bed.


After completing the charity quilt I played with my Frivols and finally got up nerve to start putting together the Gypsy Wife quilt. It sure requires a lot of space to lay out everything and total concentration to get all the strips in the right places but I think I can do it.

Getting Sidetracked

Retreat time is fast approaching; a week earlier than I had thought. So that means lots to do to get ready in less time. I don't even know which projects to take yet. Yesterday would have been a good time to start getting things together and that is what I meant to do when I got up in the morning, but I came across a pattern for a cathedral window pincushion.  I remember way back in the 60s my mother attempted to make a cathedral window quilt but gave up as it being "too fussy and a big waste of fabric".  It was her last attempt at quilting but she went on to do some beautiful crewel work. For some reason, probably procrastination, I dug out fabric from my scrap bin (no worries here about wasting fabric -- I have lots) and set about making the pincushion.

O.K. I made the pincushion; I don't know why. I seldom use a pincushion as I have cats and cats and pins can be a fatal combination so I hardly ever use them and when I do they are taken out of a lidded tin and  put back immediately. And having been in a number of pincushion exchanges I have a whole flock of stuffed chickens which seem to be the only kind I ever receive. It was only a little after noon so I still had a lot of time to get retreat stuff together. Did I? Of course not. I made more pincushions. What did I do this morning when I got up? Made more. They're addictive. The pattern should have come with a warning label.

I think I now have as many of these as I do of chickens. Maybe tomorrow I'll think about the retreat.

Moving Forward

My Civil War Class was this week and lots of fun as usual. Four of us have been taking the yearly Civil War classes for six years now. It's not that we are so interested in making the quilts anymore as it is our monthly get together. The modern version of a quilting bee.

Today one of the gals and I braved the wind and rain and went to a semi-local quilt show. It was a non-judged show.  The quilts were nice, as were the clothes. The guild also had a cloth doll making group and it was fun seeing the variations of Raggedy Ann and Andy. There was an abundance of nice raffle baskets so we're waiting and hoping for phone calls to tell us we won something.

Yesterday I got caught up again on 365 Challenge and Circa 2016:

And also Splendid Sampler:

Oops! Looking at the picture I see that the center section is off. It's going to stay the way it is. If I ever have a day with absolutely nothing else to do and the house is immaculate I will fix it.

Violets are blooming! Spring is coming!

Getting Ahead of Myself

I started the day as usual by making the 365 Challenge block. Tomorrow is my Civil War class and I ascertained that 67 half square triangles would be needed. Making that many would take the whole class time so I made them today. That way I could get on to the business of making the blocks during class time. I'm one of the few using my own fabric so I'm able to do this. I'm using stash this year for everything I can.
This appeared on my Facebook page yesterday:

I can sure relate to the last one!

I went out to the backyard but DH promptly chased me back in the house. Very wise of him as I'm still barely moving. With a disintegrated disc, RA, and sciatica it doesn't take much to put me flat on my back again. It's just that there is so much to do and I'd really like to see it done. It will have to be bit by bit.

I'm not sure if the cat is interested in making art quilts or if she s telling me not to spend so much time on the computer.

Lazy Day

A very lazy day. Yesterday I only did the daily 365 Challenge block as far as sewing goes, but the day was so beautiful and warm and it called me outside. My garden has turned into a jungle in the years since my back injury so there is work to be done. Oxalis has taken over so I set about pulling some up. Then I pulled up some more, And more. And so it went for several hours until I had filled several crates. When I was thoroughly stiff and breathless I figured it was time to take a break and fix dinner.  Homemade gluten free gnocchi alfredo.

Today I'm so stiff and sore I can hardly move. Took a muscle relaxant and tylenol but that only made me sleepy, so I slept away the afternoon instead of doing anything productive. The garden is going to take a lot more work; Once the oxalis was out of the way I found jasmine vines twining their way all over the yard, even climbing six feet up the fig tree that is a good thirty feet away from the original jasmine trellis. Violets are blooming and starting to grow leaves. Ferns have spread and need thinning.  I will be spending many more hours out there making it right again, but fewer hours at a time than yesterday.

Center for 365 Challenge

   Splendid Sampler Block #5 -- only 95 to go!