Looking Back at March 2019

Here it is coming up on the end of April and I'm just getting around to recording my Furtling for March . . . thanks to Archie the Wonder Dog, I will get this linked up just under the wire!

March pussy-footed in with a little more snow and most of the remainder of the month continued cold and wet or snowy. By the first day of Spring (per the calendar), there'd been a bit of a meltdown and a few brave bulbs were pushing up.

March 29th view. The month roaring out.

Because the weather was mostly cloudy, there was plenty of opportunity to get some furtling in (big smile). As mentioned last month (!), I started working on the remake/new quilt for my grandson. Well, good news is I finished it and it was ready for quilting by the 13th. I pieced the back using the section of the old quilt that I was able to salvage and am quite pleased with how it turned out.

The pieced back.

Pre-quilting.

After quilting and binding - front. Draped over the fence when there was a break in the showers!

Once I'd photographed it for posterity, I folded it up and posted it to Arizona. My grandson called to tell me he'd received it and that it was a comfort to him that next week when he was down with the flu. He says that it is his "go-to" blanket for napping and TV watching. 8) Makes me happy!

Once I finished that quilt I felt it was time to do something just for me. Luckily, I had stumbled across Johanna Weidner's adorable Bloem Basket pattern AND the #bloembasketalong she was sponsoring on Instagram. Of course I had to join in! I picked what fabrics I thought I'd use on the 8th and one snowy Saturday I cut and stitched and finished my cute Crocus basket. Just couldn't help myself.

What a handy accessory this is!

The Fat Quarter Shop quiltalong, Threadology, published Blocks 3 and 4 on March 1 and 15, respectively, and I got those stitched up. I put them up on the design wall in the approximate location they'll appear on the finished quilt.

Ohio Star, 9-Patch, Shooting Star, and Churn Dash blocks. The large 9-Patch and Shooting Star blocks at the bottom will be featured on the back of the finished quilt.

There was a little break in the weather by the 23rd and on a trip to Home Depot, I picked up some pansy plants and planted them in containers on the patio. They looked so very cheerful against the otherwise gloomy skies.

Still blooming despite the late snow. March 29.

The Tooele County Quilters had a three-day sew-in March 26, 27, and 28; how could I not take advantage of that time to sew and gab all day! I pre-cut all the pieces for the basketball quilt I'd determined to make for my soon-to-be 8-year-old great grandson and packed it up and stitched away those three glorious days. Such fun! 

Ten of the 20 basketballs.

Chester, the cat, helping with the other ten blocks.

I mentioned last month that I began organizing my sewing/craft space. I made good progress on that AND, with the help of my handy (and handsome!) husband, made a lovely ironing table. I was inspired by this post from Sew Katie Did, and used this post from Elizabeth Hartmann for the removable cover. 

My new pressing table, front.

Pressing table - view over the top.

So, my furtling for March ended on a high note. Thanks, again, Helen and Mini Archie for this fun way to connect. See you sooner rather than later!