What to work on when your mind shuts down

 Does your mind every just stall out or shut down?  Mine did this week.  I finished my test pattern and submitted it and then took a day off to just relax.  Yeah, like THAT was going to happen.  I have come to discover that sometimes when I try to relax my brain goes into overdrive.  It then has time to do the "what will I work on next" or "hmmm.  should I do this?" scenarios.  This time, however, it just went totally blank.  At first I was happy and then I was wondering WHY it just went blank.  Personally I think it was just playing tricks on me.  Either way it got me up out off the couch and to the computer to see what I wanted to do.  Where does one start? 

I usually start with either Pinterest or YouTube.  I was in a YouTube kind of mind so that is where I looked.  It didn't take me long to get to the quilting videos and soon I found one from The Fabric Patch.  It was for the 1600 quilt.  The 1600 quilt is also known as the Jelly Roll Race Quilt.  I wasn't in a race so I sticking to its title of The 1600 quilt.  Have you ever wondered why it is called that?  It is because Jelly Rolls usually have forty 2 1/2" strips in them.  If you sew 40 strips together you end up with a 1600" strip (40 x 40).  If you have less than 40 strips then you won't have the 1600" but that  is ok also.  I had never made one of these before so I had to start and stop the video to make sure I had it right.  I used the grab it as you go method.

The grab it as you go method is where you don't look to see if what you grabbed matches what you are sewing it to.  That is one way it is speedier.  You also don't iron the top until you are totally done (YAY).  It took me around 3 hours to finish the top or flimsy as I call it.  That also included having a couple of small visits from Jack the Ripper's sister - Jackulie.  That is my pink handled seam ripper and she lies (as much as Jack does) about how much I need to use her.  I also had to stop a couple of times to watch the video to make sure I had heard the tutorial right.  Overall I don't think it turned out too bad.

It is certainly different than what I have done before but that is ok.  I did this on my recently unboxed sewing machine which I named Lexi.  That is a small light weight Brother which I bought years ago and never unboxed it.  It is pretty since it has a blue paisley design on the front.  I think I bought it to take with me to a retreat or something but never went and never took her out of the box.  I'll take a picture of her and post it next time.  My every day Brother sewing machine will be used on a regular basis but I think I will use Lexi as a back up and also if I learn how to do the zig zag stitch.  I did a sample of that on her and it turned out pretty well.  The stitching did at least but not so much my control of where the stitches needed to be put.  I will try again and then take a picture.  I was too lazy to change out my bobbin or top thread so my first practice was just white thread on left over white fabric.  Not good for pictures.  LOL.  I am looking forward to learning more about Lexi.

I'm also looking forward to the 2021 Quilting Summit.  I just received my email from Rebecca Page which listed what to look forward to.  Here is the link if you are interested.  I went through some of the class schedule (this is a virtual Summit) and there are at least 3 projects I want to do!  As if I needed anything else to add to my 2021 quilting "to do" list.  Check it out.

https://rebecca-page.com/quiltvip/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ck&utm_campaign=summit&utm_term=n-suppliesandschedule-jan19&utm_content=summitgraphic

I actually liked the projects so much that I joined up as a VIP member so I could have access to it later in the year too.  Mostly because I am not a fast sewer and I don't normally get to the projects in the same year as I collect them.  :)

Now on to something that brings a smile to my face...just a couple more pictures of Haley.  

This first one is a picture of my nephew Jason (Haley's grandpa) and it does my heart good to see that smile on his face.  Don't tell anybody but that is a smile even AFTER he got cleaned up.  It looks like he trimmed his beard and hair and, GASP, he doesn't have camo's on nor a hat.  Well done Jason.

The pictures wouldn't be complete without a picture of Haley with her daddy.  I haven't met him and he and Tori (Haley's Momma) aren't married but perhaps eventually.  It's good to know that he is in the picture and didn't run from his responsibilities.  

That is all for this time.  I find that it is about time for a short nap and to rest my eyes a bit.  I have lots of applique scheduled (Simply Yet Elegant, LeFleur, redwork, etc.) so I'm going to rest the eyes while I can.  Besides one of the joys about retirement is that I can take naps when I want.

Have a great day.

Another generation has arrived!

 It has happened.  My nephew is a Grandpa and I am a Great Great Aunt.  Of course sometimes I might refer to myself as a Grand Aunt but that would be pretentious.   Yesterday my nephew's oldest daughter gave birth to a cute and precious little girl.  I asked her and she gave permission to share info and pictures of my Great Great Niece?  That looks weird but I think I got that right.  :)

<drum roll please>

Let me introduce Haley Rae-Ann Wheatley.  Born 1.15.21 at 3:33 p.m.  She weighed a healthy 7 pounds 3 oz and measured 19 inches.

After getting warm again, Haley soon settled down for a nap.

This morning, her First time Grandmother Jessica, took a picture of her so of course I had to share.  I got permission to share pictures of her so the family is cool with it.

They live in Illinois so I don't get a chance to see her in person but I know that Jessica always takes a TON of pictures so I will be able to keep up with her life.  :)

Toe Tapping uplifting music from the past

 I was reading my email from Sentimental Stitches and she talked about a song that her parents had taught her and she taught her son, etc.  She wasn't the only one.  I also was taught that song and so I played the song and it brought back happy memories.  It's a song that has a good meaning but just listening to the music made me want to move my body and smile.  Soon I found myself singing along with it.  THEN I discovered that what I was taught was the song was really just the refrain and chorus.  Go figure.  Listen to it if you wish and read the words.  The music might be a bit campy for today but the message in the song is certainly appropriate and it fits my word for 2021.  It made me happy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCN893hzueQ&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=jamjar30002000

Remember yesterday when I showed block 7 of Simple Yet Elegant?  I knew I had enough leaves since I had laid it all out.  STILL it took me 20 minutes to find where ONE leaf went.  I took off the paper backing and was in the middle of fusing down the leaves when I discovered I couldn't find TWO!  What?!!  I found one fast since it was stuck to another one.  Static electricity will do that sometimes.  I thought the other one had done the same but nope.  Couldn't find it.  20 minutes later, when I had decided why am I wasting time looking for something that I could just do over in less than 1 minute.  Then I found it.  Static electricity had struck again but this time it had stuck the leaf to the lid of the plastic bin that I had kept the project in.  It wasn't until I had thrown out all the paper backs that I discovered the leaf was stuck by static electricity to the BACK of the lid.  So I quickly fused it down.  So this is what the first/top row will look like (minus the sashings).  

I still have to sew the leaves block as well as the bird block down but that will happen after I finish the test project and my fingers get back to normal.  Hand stitching makes them stiff as well as after doing a lot of it for a long time my finger tips get really sensitive so I need to take periodic breaks.  I guess that means it is time to do some piecing and not applique work.  :)

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day and let that little light shine and remember that you got this!  Let 2021 be YOUR year. 

Hugs!

Taking a time out - Quilter's style

 It seems that my odd sleeping pattern is back with me for a bit.  Even though I did everything I could think of two nights ago to get some sleep, it didn't work.  I took Ibuprofen, turned on soothing nature music, turned off the lights, etc.  Nothing worked and my knee continued to keep me awake.  Last night, however, was similar but different enough that I got some sleep.  I went to bed but was up again after 2 hours of sleep.  I mean I was wide awake and knew I would not get back to sleep for a little bit.  What would I do?

I decided that I should just get up.  I didn't want to work on my test pattern because I knew I didn't have enough fabric for it if I messed it up so I went to another UFO.  I looked for fabrics to make one of the blocks in the Simple but Elegant blocks.  I found it, traced the applique pieces and fused them to the fabric.  Then, at 2 a.m. I sat down and cut them all out.  By the time I was done I was ready to go back to bed for a bit.  Four hours later I woke up and wondered if I had cut enough leaves for the pattern.  I also knew that I wouldn't get any more sleep unless I could verify I had enough leaves cut out.  What to do?

I had to pull out my master layout for block 7 to make sure the leaves and fabric I had chosen were ok.  Normally I might not question myself but when you are doing this around 5 a.m. you start to question yourself.  I laid out everything and am pleased with how it will look.

As you can see, it is just a rough outline but it is enough to tell me that I had cut out enough leaves  and I liked the red I had chosen for the buds.  By the way, when I say cut out enough leaves, you can interpret that to mean I hadn't misplaced any between the time I had cut them out and the time I woke up again.  :)

Today or tomorrow I will have to get back into the sewing room to match up DMC floss for stitching as well as put away the fabrics I had pulled out looking for the green.  I am trying to keep the shelves somewhat organized ( tougher than you might think) and know that I can't be too lazy.  I did find a video that you might be interested in.  Quilt Addicts Anonymous and Stephanie talks about how she folds her quilts for display on her shelves.  She also says that we shouldn't forget to refold the quilts approximately once a year so that the crease lines don't become permanent.  If you are interested to see what she has to say, go to her YouTube page and watch her video.

https://www.quiltaddictsanonymous.com/2021/01/how-to-fold-quilts-to-fit-your-shelves-perfectly/ 

This is one way that I stay productive (or semi productive) when taking a time out from actual quilting or crafting.  I have time to give my fingers a little bit of a break from stitching but can still stay a little focused on projects.  At the very least, I get to see crafty eye candy which is always welcome.  With this little break from stitching, my mind as well as my fingers, are rejuvenated and by the end of the week I will be stitching on some UFOs, BOMs, and starting other BOMs.  

I hope everybody has a great day!

Hugs.

A Bit of History

 This is just a quick small post.  While I was working on the test pattern for The Quilt Pattern Magazine, I was listening to YouTube  and I wondered if anybody else had seen it or would like to see it so I am putting the link to it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VuqN1xEfeM&ab_channel=MaryFons

That's it for now.  My hands are bothering me since I have been doing a lot of stitching on the test pattern so it is Ibuprofen time and bedtime.  Everybody have a good night and I'll post again telling you which of the 2021 BOMs I am working on next.

A New Wall Hanging Idea

 I was putting away some of my tops that I had finished, aka flimsies, when a new idea popped into my mind.  Don't you hate it when you have an idea that wakes you up in the middle of the night, or day, and stays in your mind until you write it down.  This is that attempt.  Of course it is not MY fault.  Oh no!  I'm blaming that mischievous Declan.  I think he snuck out in the middle of the night and visited some of his dragon friends.  I know that the Jaelyn clan is having a big gathering soon.

I'll introduce you to each of their relatives as they arrive.  I can't wait to see them because each have their own name and personalities.  I'm sure that most of you know some of those names.  Names like Mushu (from Mulan), Draco from Dragonheart, Smaug,  St. George and the Dragon, the lollipop dragon from Lollipop Dragon:  The Magic Lollipop Adventure, Elliot from Pete's Dragon, and of course the most famous of all (or at least the most well known)...Puff the Magic Dragon.

Also, I'm not sure that everybody knows that there are different markings on dragons.  Most of the time people just think in colors like green, blue, silver, gold, black, etc.  I have it on good faith that Jaelyn's family has lots of different markings.  Some look like animal prints and some more traditional.  You'll see.

Now that I have them out of my head, let me show you what else I've worked on.  I might have shown some of them before but I'll repeat just to make sure.

These first two photos were kits from Jordan Fabrics.  The light colored one I like but think I would like it better if it had another dark color fabric instead of the ornament fabric.  Don't get me wrong, I like the ornament fabric but I don't think it is enough contrast to the other fabric.

This kit has a nicely defined dark and light fabric and I think it is much better.

Here is my Covid-ville 2020 wall hanging.  You might need to click on it a bit to see the outer border is fabric of small pebbles.  It will go on hold now until I figure out what I want the back and binding to be.  Once again, it might go into the Christmas in July category. 

This last picture is not a quilt but it IS craft related.  My friend, Deb Johnson from Our Time to Quilt IO group, made this ornament.  I think she is so talented to be able to do it and has a sense of humor since she put a Covid mask on it.  His name is Hank (or Henry) and he'll hang out with George my guardian dragon.  Hank and George are named after my twin uncles who were hilarious and to this day I'm not sure who was the instigator for trouble making...Hank, George, or my mother!

Well that is it for now.  Time to get back to working on my blocks for my test pattern.  Obviously I can't share pix yet with you for that but I believe it is scheduled to be printed in May and then I can show you.

BOM sites

 <after getting Declan out of my chair>

Declan is sneaky isn't he.  Don't worry, he's too cute to get in to much trouble but if he takes a bite out of my new electric throw he will be in MAJOR trouble.  Guess that means I will have to keep him supplied with hot chocolate, mint, and candy.

I saw a list of BOMs in my NewCyberQuilters group that Karin had posted but I'm having trouble posting it here.  She gave me permission to share it so I think the only way I can do that, due to my limited computer skills, is to just share the links.  If they don't work, my apologizes.  There should be enough information that you can cut and paste the website and go there that way.

https://ajpadilla.com/

https://lisabongean.com/2020/08/18/new-for-2021-stitch-along-read-all-about-itk/

https://kimlapacek.com/2020/12/an-old-school-block-of-the-month-2021.html

http://www.fandominstitches.com/

https://www.buttermilkbasin.com/

http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2020/10/flora-delanica-1-french-rose.html

https://val-laird.blogspot.com/

https://www.piecingthepastquilts.com/grandmas-hearth-signup

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2020/12/2021-pieced-bom-hands-all-around.html

https://www.ilovetomakequilts.com/home-is-quilt-along.html

https://www.tuning-my-heart.com/blog/introducing-the-2021-BOM

https://patchworkinspirations.fr/?p=4825

https://www.patchworkgilde.de/aktivitaeten/sew-along-2021-0

https://www.stephjacobsondesigns.com/p/2021-modern-hst-bom.html

https://pumpkinpatchbc.com/blog/

https://patternsbyjen.blogspot.com/2020/12/announcing-2021-monthly-color-challenge.html

http://www.pinetreequiltersguildofmuskoka.com/block-of-the-month/

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/quilt-along-calendar

https://jacquelynnesteves.com/my-hometown-bom/?ck_subscriber_id=1047614845

https://nancyzieman.com/blog/

http://www.elefantz.com/p/posies-block-of-month-2021.html

https://canadianquilter.com/news/new-row-of-the-month-quilt-along/

https://countrylanequilts.com/mystery-quilt.html

https://scrapquiltandstitch.blogspot.com/

https://suzyssitcom.com/2020/08/join-the-seagull-paradise-sew-along.html

https://blog.fatquartershop.com/2021-serendipity-quilt-along/

https://abyquilts.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/2021-bom-preview/

https://www.calicopatch.net/sew-much-joy-stitch-a-long-bock-of-the-month-snowman-quilt.htm

https://snugglesquilts.com/block-of-the-month/

https://kathrynkerr.com/

https://www.createwithclaudia.com/2020/11/stars-of-the-prairie-mystery-quilt/

https://suzyssitcom.com/

http://www.limeleaves.biz/

https://fortheloveofgeese.com/tree-of-life-qal-free-2/

http://www.mississaugaquiltersguild.ca/block-of-the-month.html

https://www.hollyhillquiltdesigns.com/

https://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/

https://blog.fatquartershop.com/announcing-the-best-friends-quilt-along/

https://www.justletmequilt.com/

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/quilt-along-calendar

https://www.bitsandpiecesbyjoan.com/

https://marcusmentions.com/2020/12/holiday-greetings-to-all/#.X-roGBYxlPY

https://www.calicopatch.net/potted-petals-mystery-stitch-a-long-wool-applique.htm

http://everydaystitches.com/?p=1444&fbclid=IwAR3DlYP8VvSFGayX3eilQDU8KKQx75HoEqPGCyDci3FJTlydEP1zpGZ3vjk

https://www.makingscrappyquilts.com/whats-new/

https://lifeandpeacequiltco.mailchimpsites.com/square-peg-qal-2021

https://bumbleberrystitches.com/2020/01/20/winter-blues-blog-hop/

https://quilterstrek.com/?page_id=9829

https://saidwithlove.com.au/sew-alongs/boho-heart-quilt-along/

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/log-cabin-love

I hope that this list helps and, once again, my apologies for not being computer savvy enough to get it in a better format, etc.

Happy Stitching!

This episode is brought to you by ME! Declan!

 Oops.  Must not speak so loudly in case Ms. Elfkins figures out that I'm at her computer.  I only mean to help her since she is so busy with trying to organize her life for 2021.  I don't know how you humans do it.  Your lives get so complicated at times.  Take us Reindeer for instance.  We eat and poop and eat some more.  Oh yeah, and go visit EVERYBODY once a year.  Well we do a couple of other things like go meet our paparazzi admirers a couple of times a year.  It's tough but no where near as complicated as Humans.  So perhaps you should try to take it a bit easier in 2021.  What?  Who am I?  Oh.  Elfkins forgot to post my picture with the rest.  Here I am.

 I'm the scout.  I try to hide but I have to come out and speak up sometimes.  Do you know what Elfkins has been doing?  She's been being busy and not slowing down for retirement.  I'll have to talk to her about that.  Oh yes, she gets to stitch all day if she wants to.  That takes some planning to have it all set up.

Last night she stitched on her test pattern, stitched on some leaves for her Simple But Elegant blocks, pulled out more blocks to work on today and contemplated on whether or not she will do binding today.  That wasn't all.  She also took 100 stitches in her mini owl HAED cross stitch and started to stitch on her Midieval Shelf HAED.  She didn't get her 100 stitches in but it's a start.  I did approve, however, of her taking a nap.  I almost swiped her overstuffed pillow she made and her electric throw myself.  Mmmmm.  She was so snuggled in on the love seat and all warm under that throw.  Just thinking of it is making me want to take my nap now also.

I will leave you all now since she probably has enough caffeine in her to notice me typing this.  Let's face it, hooves aren't the quietest except on snow.  Have a good 2021 everybody and remember Shhhhh.  Don't tell her I am posting this.  She'll find out eventually anyway.  Now for me to snuggle down with hot chocolate and her electric throw.