Design Wall Monday - April 29, 2019

I got home Sunday from a quilt retreat in Shipshewana, Indiana.  While there I worked on several of my unfinished projects, and will show you some of them in the weeks to come.  Here is the final border that goes on the baskets thirties quilt.  It is so helpful to lay a border out and get other quilter's opinions on fabric placements.   I took pictures of the final version of the outer random pieces and will sew them together and put them on the quilt this week.  Yeah!

Spring has come, and the dandelions are everywhere.  Here is a pictures of a dear friend's great granddaughter picking a bouquet.   I remember doing that as a child, and also remember my children bringing me beautiful bouquets too.  It is known as a weed, but I think otherwise.  They are so cheery.  

She's adorable!!

What is on your design wall this Monday morning?  Please link up and let us see what you are working on.  Thanks!  My only request is that you link back to this particular post somewhere within your blog post.   Happy Spring!

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Design Wall Monday - April 22, 2019

Some weeks there is so much happening that I have trouble picking a subject to stick with for the blog post.  April has been like that.  My birthday was celebrated April 16th, and through the wonder of the Internet, I heard from friends from far away and from many years past.  It was great!  76 years old now, it is hard to believe....time just flies by.

Remember the zillions of broken dishes blocks I was making?  They are now on the design wall, and are becoming a quilt top:

 I am about 40% finished, and surprisingly, it is going together rather well.  I think part of the success is that after quilting for so many years, my 1/4 inch seams are getting more consistent.  Yeah!

Another picture:

It fills my entire design wall, and will be king sized when complete.  Broken dishes blocks of four hsts are 2 inches square finished size.  I think it will be 100 x 100 inches.   Surprisingly, I'm not tired of assembly on this one.  It is varied enough that I have to pay attention to what I'm doing.

What is on your design wall this Monday?  Can't wait to see.  Please refer back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.  Thanks!

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Design Wall Monday - April 15, 2019

I finished putting together the cheddar baskets quilt top.  Sometimes when I am grieving, I get a lot of quilting done.  I have heard from other quilters that this is true.  Quilting is a comfort when I'm sad, and a joy when I'm happy.  

Here's a picture of the completed top.......but maybe it needs a border?  What do you think?

This is why I have a heavy heart:   My wonderful longarm quilter, Janel Rhodea, died suddenly last week.  After struggling with cancer, she thought it was beaten, but it was not.  I know she is in heaven right now, which is a comfort to me.  As a longarmer, she always knew just what I wanted, and did a fabulous job.  We were always on the same page.  She even recently hand quilted a doll quilt for me.  She will be missed so much, and my heart will always love her.  She has quilted most of the quilts I have made, and I have that beauty as a memory.  She was only 62. 

Also, after boarding Penny Lane for the time we were in Virginia, she came home with a virus, one of the kennel cough kind.  It is air born, highly contagious, and even though all the dogs at the kennel had been vaccinated against it, the kennel had five cases of it during the busy Easter break week.  The vaccine works for most virus bugs, but not all.  She is contagious for the next three weeks, according to Internet reading.  Good news is she is acting fine (nothing bothers a Labrador)  and has no symptoms except a cough that sounds like a duck quacking. 

And, after enjoying the sunshine and warm weather in Texas and also in Virginia, yesterday it snowed again in Michigan.  The pine trees outside are covered with a blanket of snow.  See picture taken yesterday:

WHERE IS SPRING???

What are you working on this Monday?  I am looking forward to looking at your projects.  The only request I have is to please link back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.  Thanks!

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Design Wall Monday - April 8, 2019

Sometimes retirement seems busier to me than when we were working.  Although we are back from our Texas trip, we are on vacation again to visit friends in Virginia.  My group of quilters who like to make civil war reproduction quilts, The Churn Dashers, is having their semi-annual meeting.

So today, I am in Williamsburg, VA, taking a tour this morning of Colonial Williamsburg's Textile Conservation storage facility and two textile labs.  The tour was arranged by one of the Churn Dasher group members, who has been a volunteer there for over twenty years.  What a treat she has provided for the group.

Here is a picture of my design wall, and as far as I am on the little baskets quilt:

The top left corner four blocks are together, and the rest are pinned up in pieces, waiting for me to get to them.  I guess I don't enjoy this part of making a quilt - obviously!
Thanks for linking up with Design Wall Mondays.  Ya'all are so talented!  (I'm in Virginia so I'm using their language)  Please provide a link back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.  Bless your heart!  My Michigan vocabularly will be back next week when I'm back home, thanks for indulging me.  :)

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Design Wall Monday - April 1, 2019

April 1st!  My Dad was a jokester and loved puns and corny jokes.  An example:

On every April 1st he would moan and groan about how tired he was.   If anyone asked why, he would reply, "Well, who wouldn't be after a March of 31 days?"  He was a World War II Army infantryman, so I guess he identified with this marching joke.  As his children, we (my brother and sister and I) would just roll our eyes, and say.....not that old joke again!  Now that he's gone, I miss his corny jokes.

I am happy to welcome April and hopefully it will be spring in Michigan soon!  It's not here yet, but on the trip back from our vacation in Texas, I did see some patches of Spring Beauty:

Claytonia Virginica

which is one of my favorite wildflowers.  So delicate looking and such a beauty, but not even noticed by most people because it is so small.  Here's another picture of a patch of it:

    The design wall at my house has the tiny baskets quilt on it still.  Each week, I have a goal of finishing it and somehow I skip working on it and work on other quilts.  And then I left town on vacation, so no design wall work.  So iinstead of repeating my picture of a few weeks ago of the basket quilt, I interrupt this blog post with a shout-out to my hubby's college - Michigan State University!  Their basketball team is in the final four of the NCAA Tournament, and we are happy fans here.  The team has worked so hard, and we are happy for their success.  Picture of us is with the team mascot, Sparty, taken a few years ago:

Also, Penny turned one year old on Sunday, March 31st.  We bought her three new toys to celebrate.  She really enjoyed the beach down in Texas (Padre Island).   She wanted to catch seagulls, a hopeless task, but an unrelenting goal of a puppy.

Thanks for linking with Design Wall Monday.  I'm excited to see what new projects you have in this new month.  As always, please provide a link back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.  Thanks again!

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