Out Like A Lamb

I would imagine that considering current events around the world that there will be a flurry of blog posts from otherwise errant bloggers, like myself. In any case, it seems appropriate that I lend my two cents to the fray if for no other reason than to update my friends and family on the ordinary and otherwise days on Vine Street!

As we all are very aware, the world has been turned upside-down with the coronavirus pandemic; however, and hopefully, we will adapt and "flatten the curve" together with attention to recommendations of social distancing, etc. Although there have been some gloom-and-doom stories in the news of late, there has also been an indication that most of us are kind and generous to our fellows. My fervent prayer is that we can all be comforted in God's unfailing love in Jesus Christ - especially at this time of year when His greatest love is given.

Adapting to new ways of socializing may be difficult in some circumstances but I must admit that being a rather solitary person by nature, I (and my sweet husband) am not finding it too hard. The telephone commercial from years ago about "reaching out and touching" (as in dialing the phone) is appropriate now, both on our phones and computers. Facetime and Skype are probably going to see an uptick in usage if they haven't already. And then, there's snail mail, which for me is a perfect way to keep my hand in the creation of special cards. I have a plethora of red rubber and photopolymer stamps and have decided that this is an awesome opportunity to pull out some of the older ones (especially those from StampinUp! that I acquired over 20 years ago!) and create away. Susanne Netz of Sunn Stampin' calls it #isolationcreation which I think is great for not only papercrafting but any other creative pursuit.

This is an example of one of six cards I made recently for friends and family. The chair (colored with Stampin' Blends) is from SU's Funky Favorites, 1998. The comfy kitty (labeled Ernie) is a stamp from creativebeginnings.com, a domain, it turns out, that is no longer on the web. I'm thinking I probably purchased this in the early 2000's. The sentiment is from On My Couch by papertreyink.com, copyright 2009. So you see, once I get creatin', it'll be hard to stop.

Of course I also have a stash of sewing/quilting projects to work on and unfortunately (or not!) I cannot stop myself from adding to the list of things to make what with all the wonderful, and often free offerings on the web from generous creative folks. Our local Tooele County Quilters did not have our regularly-scheduled monthly meeting in March and will most likely not be gathering in the next few months. Good thing, though is that in January we started the annual Block of the Month and Mystery Quilt. Besides all the numerous projects I have piled up, I have gotten fabric and supplies for both of these challenges and have the fabric all cut for the Mystery Quilt (which this year is called Let's Take a Trip) and have made up one of four of the blocks for March and April's Block of the Month, Sunday Best Sampler, I got a 40+ fat quarter pack from Pink Castle Fabrics called Birthday Bouquet and found some lovely Windham Fabrics yardage for the background called Sunflower Market by Whistler Studios, Pattern #50623. I am using a Paintbrush Studios fabric cut called Chelsea, Pattern 120-219 for the cornerstones. Here is the first block, On A Whim:

 I'm calling mine Out on a Limb since I turned the four bowties the wrong direction. Fortunately, all four were sewn in wrong as there is no way that I'm going to try to remedy it! Each of the first three blocks for this sampler are rather labor-intensive with small pieces. I've found that starching my fabric before cutting and sewing really helps in getting cleaner results. This is something that I only recently have adopted after reading that quilting wizards like Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter and Melissa Mortenson of The Polka Dot Chair use fabric starch for their small piecing. I also discovered that a wool ironing mat gives incredibly flat pressing. Helpful tools make the creative life so much more fun!

Aren't these pretty fabrics for the Sunday Best Sampler? I'm thinking that the finished quilt will be happy.

For the Mystery Quilt I am using two of the  fabrics that I had purchased maybe five years ago for that year's mystery quilt project (and never got around to doing). I have an 108" wide text fabric that I'm using for the background which will modernize it somewhat. Last year's mystery quilt turned out so cool which makes everyone excitedly anticipating this year's.

Yesterday I mailed off my completed Meadowland Quilt  to my longtime best friend in California. She saw the first 15 blocks that I posted on social media (Instagram and Facebook) and said that if I didn't have a recipient in mind, she would be willing to accept it! Haha! Well, finishing it up with her in mind made it a pleasant journey.

I also mailed off a toy tote (Bloem Basket) for our great grandson. His 3rd birthday was March 16th and slowpoke that I am, I just finished it and filled it with farm toys. The Tooele County Quilters had an Open Sew Retreat scheduled for last week - March 24, 25, and 26. But, since no gatherings of more than 10 people are currently allowed, we didn't get together. At our last retreat in January I made (among other things) three Bloem baskets for a friend and at least eight of the other attendees asked if I'd teach them how to make it. I got permission from the basket's designer, Johanna Weidner, to purchase the pattern at a discount and demonstrate construction at our next retreat. So, in lieu of showing in real life, I emailed daily photos and comments of my construction process to the eight quilters who had signed on. The basket I photographed and "demonstrated" was the toy tote.

I requested that everyone send me a photo of their finished baskets but so far, no one has finished. I hope that they didn't get confused from my "virtual" demonstration!

The Bloem Baskets I made in January.

Tomorrow (or possibly tonight) I will cut the pieces for the second block for the Sunday Best Sampler Block of the Month. It is called Starling and will feature one print fabric. I also want to get started on a table topper/mini quilt for April using this free tutorial, April Showers mini quilt. I have a spring-y fat quarter bundle that I'll be using for that. So far this year I've made table toppers/mini quilts for each of the first three months and have found them to be a fun relatively quick and satisfying endeavor.

Table runner for January.

Table topper and mug rugs for February.

Irish Chain table topper for March.

While we're on the topic of quilting, I have made two other quilts this year that I'm pretty proud of.

One of my New Year's "resolutions" was to use up fabric that has been sitting in my stash for many years in some cases, so I began that with a quilt for our two-year-old great granddaughter. Last year, January 2019, I had made some cute cushions for a little rocking chair we had gotten for her and I had quite a bit of the paperdoll fabric I used for those left over. After making a reading pillow (from this tutorial) for her for Christmas out of the rest of the green background paperdoll fabric, I figured I could use up the blue and white background pieces for a quilt. Here is the finished quilt and our precious great granddaughter:

The other quilt I put together was using some fabric purchased in Honolulu on our trip there in 1989. I must have had the intention of making nine patch blocks since it and some white fabric was all cut into 4" squares and there were a couple blocks completed. I took that idea and ran with it, backed it with Minki and bound it with leftover print squares sewn together. I call it my Hawaiian quilt and am saving it for any new baby who happens to be born in the family in the future.

This photo was taken February 13, 2020, when we were having a cold, dry spell.

I really love how this one turned out and can't wait to "gift" it.

On March 11 the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and shortly thereafter, colleges were beginning to close campuses and encouraging students to return to their homes and complete the semester online. Our grandson, Ty David, who is in his senior year at Tarleton University in Stephenville, TX, packed up his worldly goods and began the journey back to Utah on the 17th. He had his truck and trailer and his three rodeo horses and he was gentlemanly enough to travel along with another college rodeo student to her home in Loveland, CO. They arrived in Loveland late on the 18th and Ty's intention was to get a night's sleep and then travel down Interstate 80 through Wyoming and on home the next day. However, the weather put the kabosh on that as there was a severe winter storm outside Cheyenne, rendering the interstate  dangerously icy with low to no visibility. He wasn't able to leave until the morning of March 21 and we were so happy to see him pull in here at the ranch at 6:50 p.m. The ponies were very glad to be home too and they are by now settled in with their pasture and stable mates here on Vine at the Diamond A Ranch. Ty is finishing up his classes online and working fulltime at the family business, All-Tech Electric, Inc. 

Home at last.

Zip stepping out after a long ride.

So the last ten days have been a lesson in patience and adjustment but there is a bright sun on the horizon in the HOPE that we will survive this. 

This too shall pass.

God's Peace,

Hazel