Design Wall Monday - July 26, 2021

Well, another Monday is here……and I played all week.  Had a great family party yesterday and loved seeing some of our Hansen relatives again.  Between party prep, overnight company, and actual party, I did very little quilting.  I did finish this doll quilt top:

It’s a doll quilt I’ve been working on along with the larger one I just finished.  The 11 inch square little Apple Core quilt is all red print fabrics, 100 pieces, none the same.  I started it quite a while ago, and as I was finishing it this week, I was thinking…….who would start making a little quilt this small?  I am getting older, and now had a little trouble with the small pieces, but finished it is.   And finished is better than perfect!  The matching big quilt is named “Red Delicious”.  What would be a good name for this little one?   Maybe just “Small Red Delicious”, or “Little Red Delicious” unless you come up with something very clever.  

I posted a bouquet this past week on Facebook, and had lots of opinions about the “weed” classification it has.  What do you think?  

It has such a pretty name here, “Queen Anne’s Lace” and is so delicate and lacy.  I think of it as a “flower”,  but not for my garden.  A flower I can cut for free any day of the summer, along any country road around Ludington, Michigan.

Here are a few pictures from our family party yesterday.  Hubby in his boat, a shot of the cabin from the lake, and a picture of hubby, his two sisters, our brother-in-law, and me.  The “old folks” at the party.  Penny Lane is in the picture too. All the other guests were children, grands, and one great-grand.

What has your week been like?  I am looking forward to seeing your pictures and reading your blogs.  Please link up to this Design Wall Monday Linky Party!  I hope to do the link correctly this week, as I had done something wrong last week.  Thanks to those of you who let me know the link wasn’t working.  It should be good today.

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Design Wall Monday - July 12, 2021

Good Morning Quilters!  

I finished another block for the May Day Basket quilt:

It has been a good week for me, in that my medical issue of a few weeks ago (sudden temporarily blindness in one eye) has been checked out thoroughly. 

I told my hubby that the brain scan results found that there was nothing there!  LOL. Actually, all tests came back with great news and the doctors are not finding anything that needs surgery. The brain scan report had the word “patent” after every artery checked.  I didn’t know what that meant, and the doctor said it meant “wide open”.  So I learned the medical use of the word patent and the report was good in my tests.

What can I do to keep healthy?  Get educated.  It was a wakeup call for me to get educated about strokes.  The lifetime risk of stroke for women between the ages of 55 and 75 in the United States is 1 in 5.  Signs of a stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.

If any of the above happens, call 911 immediately and get checked out.

What else can I do: 

• Eat healthy: Choose healthy foods most of the time, including foods with less salt, or sodium, to lower my blood pressure, and that are rich in fiber and whole grains to manage my cholesterol.external icon
• Get regular physical activity: Regular activity helps me reach and maintain a healthy weight and keeps my heart and blood vessels healthier.

Here are some glamour shots of the apple core charm quilt, “Red Delicious”.  The thrill of finishing an old UFO hasn’t worn off.  I hope you enjoy seeing it.  I called my friend Joan Edwards, who started this quilt years ago, and she was thrilled too.  I am going to wash it and get the extra red out before I add the white label with our names on it.  

On the recliner, ready for a snuggle:

Showing the back side and the curved binding:

 

Outside on the porch:

Full shot of the whole quilt.  It measures 64 inches square.  1,024 apple core pieces, none alike.  32 blocks by 32 blocks.

Please join the linky party and show us what you are working on this week.  Great pictures last week!

This Design Wall linky party has only two requirements.  Please comply with both.  Thanks!

1) Mention within your current post that you are participating in Design Wall Monday, and

2) Link back to this particular blog post from within your current post so it is easy for folks to jump back to this Design Wall Monday page to go to the next participant’s blog.

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Desgn Wall Monday, June 21, 2021

 Good Morning Quilters!

So much is happening that I could write about, and some of it isn't quilty.  But I guess I will get my thoughts down on paper so my head can be clearer.

In no particular order, these things have happened:

Father's Day was a wonderful day trip to Lansing for a golf outing.  Two Grandpas, one son and wife, and two Grandsons golfed, while I rode around with them in a cart, working on one of my embroidery baskets.  They included me, even though I'm not a golfer.  We had a great time.  The course wasn't super busy, and that allowed us to play all together, instead of a foursome and a twosome, so everyone had fun seeing everyone else's golf shots.   

Saturday, we volunteered to clean house and spread mulch outside for a charity near and dear to our hearts.  Lighthouse for Teen Moms is a Grand Rapids charity that provides housing, life lessons, and life skills to young teen mothers, who range in age from 14 to 18 years old.  The work day with filled with lots of volunteers and we cleaned the two homes where the charity houses the girls.  It was so good to see all the people working together, and many hands made light work.   I like this charity because it gives options for girls to choose life and not abortion at a critical time in their lives.

Tuesday, June 15th, was our 58th wedding anniversary.  We had a great day and celebrated with friends Wednesday night.  I made a pineapple upside down cake for them with 58 spelled out in pineapple.  I had to think backwards and upside down, because you flip the cake over and the bottom becomes the top.  Tuesday morning, when we ate breakfast out at our favorite restaurant, I told the waitress we were married longer than she has been alive....and she said "twice as long!" lol  It is so amazing and such a joy that we have been married for so long.

Midweek in week before, while driving back to Grand Rapids after a visit with my sister, a strange incident of temporary blindness in one eye for a very short time, led me to several appointments last week.

I've had an appointment with two eye doctors (someone in my family advised I see an Ophthalmologist instead of my Optometrist)  Both eye doctors said my eyes are fine.  My appointment with my general doctor's group was next.  While there I had an electrocardiogram and also have three more tests scheduled: a brain scan, a carotid arteries test, and a heart echocardiogram.  I have never had any of these three tests before.  

The internet (sometimes a reliable source, sometimes not) gives me the following info: A reduction of blood flow through one of the carotid arteries may cause temporary vision loss in the eye on the same side.  The loss of vision is like a curtain being drawn over the eye and usually lasts just one or two minutes. 

Also the short blindness in one eye can be a warning that a stroke is coming later.

My appointments for all three tests are on June 29th, and I shall report the results to you when I know.  

But in the quilting world, I finished machine quilting the red charm quilt in the other direction.  You were correct - it looks so much better quilted in both directions.  And I even finished binding it, and followed the curved edge of the apple core pieces with the binding.  I want to make a label for it, and add a hanging sleeve before it is totally finished.  And with all the traveling this week, I failed to take a picture of the completed quilt.  But it is so rewarding to have this quilt on the finish line!  Here is a picture of the binding:

Also a picture of my newly replanted small bed of flowers where our flagpole is.  All of the perennials were chosen because they are "deer resistant", and the Bee Balm is the star right now.  The hummingbirds love it, and of course the bees do too.   Behind the flowerbed you can see our Dogwood tree, which has been outstanding this year.   It is not a native, but is a white Kousa dogwood. 

What are all the things happening in your world?  I look forward to seeing your quilting walls, projects, blocks, and other happenings in your life this week.  Please link up to the Design Wall Monday linky party and show us.  Thanks.  Don't forget to put a link back to this particular post from somewhere within your post, and also let people know that you are linking up.  

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Design Wall Monday - June 14, 2021

Good Morning Quilters!  This week was not very productive for me because I was caring for my sister.  She is doing much better, and I came back home on Wednesday.  So Saturday, I had a dedicated quilting day and got the courage to work on another UFO that has been here for a long time.  I looked back on my blog, and the last time I talked about this quilt was Sept., 2019.  (Here)

My friend, Joan Brink, came over with her sewing machine, and we both machine quilted on our own projects.  I am not very adept at machine quilting, but had this UFO set aside to try it on for quite a while.  My red apple core charm quilt has been basted together waiting for me to try domestic sewing machine quilting.  I finally read more about it, and gave it a try.

I read and "youtubed" about settings, feet, feed dogs, and "super slider" mats.  I googled how to make your own super slider type surface, and used contact paper.  I cut a large piece of contact paper, and removed the backing from only the edge of it on the left and right edge.  Then stuck it down, and cut a hole in the middle for the sewing machine needle.  It worked just fine, and I was able to remove it to change a bobbin.

I ended up trying one of my Janome machine quilting feet, and kept the feed dogs up.  I went slowly, and used a stitch setting of 2.2.  It actually was fun.

Here is my UFO, which I plan to name "Red Delicious" because it's red and an apple core pattern.  It was started long ago by a friend, Joan Edwards, and she sent it to me to add more squares and make it larger.  I increased it to 1,000 squares (I think a little more) and then it sat as a UFO for a very long time.  Until this week - Finishing is finally happening!

I followed the curves across the quilt from one edge to another in only one direction, and am now deciding if I should/could stop, or should I quilt the curves in the other direction.  What do you think?

I think I know the answer - I should quilt it more by quilting the curves in the other direction.  But I wish I was finished.  But, on the positive side, it will be more practice on my machine quilting, won't it?

What are you working on?  I so enjoy looking at the pictures you show us and reading about what you are creating.  Keep up the good work!  Please link to the Design Wall Monday party and don't forget to mention Design Wall Mondays in your blog post.  Also, a link back to this particular blog post is required.  Thanks!

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Design Wall Monday - October 7, 2019

Good morning quilters!  This week I have been working more on "Doll Delicious", the doll quilt to go with my large quilt named "Red Delicious".  Thanks to Annie of "Annie's Quilt Orts" blog for naming the doll quilt.  I like the name.  I have 68 apple core pieces together and will finish it at 100 pieces soon.  Since it is hand sewn, it is a good "take with" project.  

Here is a closeup picture to show you a fabric with a little mouse face:

Lastly, here's a picture of Penny Lane with her blanket.  She loves her blanket, and carries it around the house.   It is fuzzy on one side and Minky fabric on the other.  I kept it from her while she was teething, and so far she hasn't chewed very many holes in it since I've given it back.  She reminds me of a toddler with a blankie.

Let's see what is on your design wall today.  Please provide a link back to this particular blog post from somewhere within your blog post.  Thank you.

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Design Wall Monday - September 30, 2019

My design wall actually has a completed quilt top on it today!!!  Yeah!  I got this quilt out recently as someone had asked what my oldest UFO was.  This is it, and it is now finished.  It will be named "Red Delicious".

The apple cores are 3 inches long from top to bottom (finished), and the quilt top measures about 66 inches square, and has 32 apple cores in each row and column.  To qualify for a "charm quilt", it should have at least 1000 pieces, and this one has 1024.  It was started by my friend Joan Edwards, in New Hampshire, and finished by me, while living in Virginia and Michigan.  

As you can see, I started a doll quilt to match the large one:

Since the large pieces were three inches in length, I made the smaller ones half their size, to finish at 1.5 inches in length.

It is so much fun for me to make doll quilts.  I don't know how big this one will be, but probably about 10 rows by 10 columns, for 100 squares.  I am 1/4 the way finished after just one day and evening of hand sewing while watching football.  

What is on your design wall today?  I so appreciate looking at your quilts.  The pictures are my "pleasure break" on Mondays from laundry and cleaning the house.  Please provide a link somewhere within your blog post that links back to this particular blog post.  Thank you!

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Design Wall Monday - September 16. 2019

This week I got out one of my oldest UFOs.  I don't know why I stop on a project, but I do know that it is always fun to get a UFO out and see what's what.  This project was started by my friend Joan Edwards, and after she worked on it a while, she announced that she was done, and wanted to get rid of it.  I volunteered to take it and finish it......well, I volunteered to take it anyway.  The apple cores are 3 inches finished height, top to bottom.  How old is it?  Well, there is one fabric with "2000" printed on it, so it's at least 19 years old.

In looking at it this week, part of it is hand pieced, and part of it is machine pieced.  Joan's pieces are all hand pieces, and mine are both hand and machine pieced.   I remember taking a class on machine piecing curved pieces, and practiced on this quilt after the class.  It is supposed to have all different fabrics in it, but I don't know if that is so at this point in time, and now all I want is to finish it.

I looked online at different apple core piecing methods, and found information about English paper piecing apple core blocks.....I hadn't tried that yet.  Here's my first attempts, and I like it.   I like this method because there is no fiddling with the concave and convex curves while I am sewing the two pieces together.  I read about it (Here)

Here is a picture of some "English papers" I have drawn to cut up and try the English paper piecing method.   I drafted my own papers by drawing a box 3 inches square, making a circle that touched the middle of all four sides, cutting it out, and folding it into fourths.  Then I drew another box on graph paper, and used the folded circle to draw each 1/4 of the apple core.  If you look at my graph paper, you can see that "x" marks I used as guides (showing the center of each apple core), and see how I traced the arches from the folded circle to connect them.  

When I first got this UFO out, I did a quick count of how many pieces were in it, and came up with a rough estimate of around 600.  This type of quilt is called a "charm" quilt, with the definition being at least 1000 pieces, all the same shape, and all different fabrics.   So only about half way to 1000 pieces!  Well, Sunday night when I put it up on the design wall, with the start of adding 2 rows to the right side.....I counted again, and it will be 32 pieces X 32 pieces....1024 pieces!  So all of the "learning" I did on how to English paper piece this type of block will make this UFO get finished rather quickly.....or so I think right now.  Stay tuned...LOL  I am thinking of naming it "Red Delicious".

I also think the new method would be the way to go for a doll quilt sized Red Delicious.  I am adding a small one to the never ending bucket list of quilts I want to make.

What are you working on?  Please link up and show us your design wall for Design Wall Mondays.  I do ask that you provide a link somewhere within your blog post that links back to this particular blog post.  

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