Design Wall Monday - May 20, 2024

 Good Morning Quilters!

Hi quilters!  Penny Lane here.  I’ve taken over my owner’s responsibilities today because she has not done much to tell you about.  I, however, have much to report:

I have been sleeping on whatever quilt she has on the couch.  I like them all.  Here is a picture of me on an old scrappy tied quilt that is one of my favorites to sleep on.

I also keep a close watch on her and try to encourage her to take breaks from quilting so we can go outside in the sunshine.  I can be very persuasive when I just stare at her, giving her long looks with little sighs.

She did finish the binding on the quilt she was working on for two weeks…….so I wagged my tail in approval.

Now she has started binding another one, and if she finishes it this week, you will see it next week.  I am pretty persuasive though about getting her to quit and take me outside.  My favorite thing to do outside is to roll around on the grass on my back.  It gives me the nicest feeling.  

What have you been doing this nice spring week?  If you have nothing on your design wall, that’s o.k.  My owner understands.  But she does want to hear from you, and see your pictures.  Please join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below.  

Thanks for your participation.  My owner loves and appreciates you.  .  

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Design Wall Monday - December 26, 2022

 Good Morning Quilters!

It’s the last Monday in 2022, and I will be spending this week planning how to tackle my UFOs next year, how to organize my quilt room to enjoy my time there more, and how to finish quilts without long pauses during the process.  It is an exciting time in my quilting journey, so I hope to have weekly plans and goals to share with you in the new year.

Did you have a nice Christmas? We did!  I was singing…..”The weather outside was frightful but the fire is so delightful”…….We spent Christmas day at our son’s home in front of their very big fireplace, all cosy and warm.  Grand Rapids got slammed with a blizzard over Christmas with frigid temps, snow, and high winds blowing the snow all around.   Blizzard warnings were in effect for the first time in over 10 years here.

I enjoy seeing all of your Christmas pictures so I will show you today some Christmas pictures from my house.  Merry Christmas!  I hope you enjoy them.

This is our tree topper, that was a UFO for a long time, but is now finished, and on top of our tree every year.  (Needlepoint from a kit)

A picture of Penny Lane on the front porch with a red and white “crossed canoes” pattern quilt that I purchased as a top, and finished into a quilt.  I love red and white quilts.  This picture is from a Christmas past - when we didn’t have very much snow.  (This year there is nothing on the front porch except the white bench, covered with a thick blanket of frigid snow!)

A picture of Penny and me, taking a nap together under a vintage quilt that I purchased a long time ago.  The red and green feathered stars are all hand pieced and the quilt is nicely hand quilted.  I bought it from another quilter while I lived in Virginia, and I don’t have any history on it.

On our bedroom dresser is the snowman collection.  I am not adding any more snowmen to this collection, but I treasure each one, as some were hand made for me by friends over the years.

I’m looking forward to reading your year end posts, hearing about your Christmas, and how much snow you had, or didn’t have.  Link up below and let us know what you are doing in this last week of 2022.  Thank you so much for joining the Design Wall Monday Linky Party this week.  Please mention it in your blog so others can join us.  

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Design Wall Monday - January 25, 2021

Sometimes I feel I can’t handle everything right now.  That life has handed me more than I can cope with.  When I start feeling like this, I step back and think about the bigger picture of life.  I think about all the wonderful things that are happening in life.  For example, a dear friend of mine sent this picture of new grandbabies:

Their shirts say    “OMG....yes we are triplets!!!   I am so happy for my friend Pam, and her daughter!  And as I was smiling about this miracle the other day, God reminded me that this miracle of three healthy beautiful babies were given to just the right Momma and Grandmother and their families.

God has given me just the right things to deal with right now, and I laughed when I thought of how frazzled I’d be with triplets to take care of.  I am coping just fine, God.  I see the big picture and feel so blessed with my life right now.  

We are still at the cabin up north, and I am sitting with my sister, Nancy, at the hospital while she receives dialysis every M W F.  I am interviewing care companies to hire a caregiver  to sit with her.  Nancy doesn’t understand that she can’t get up and walk around, and needs someone to gently tell her it isn’t time to leave yet.  I am getting a lot of embroidery done while I sit with her, but must get back to Grand Rapids at some point.  Hubby and I have obligations there and I miss my quilt room.

Also through complicated circumstances, we have acquired a nephew’s dog.  Here is a photo of Mojo:

He has had two major surgeries in January, but came through both like a trooper. I want to keep him as our dog, as he is such a good boy, and deserves us, but hubby is still undecided.  Two dogs are more than one dog........but not like three babies are more than one baby!  I think I’ll use that thought with hubby......would you like another dog, or triplets to care for.

Penny Lane has been super understanding and gentle with the recovering patient.  When I give Mojo medicine in a chunk of peanut butter, Penny gets a chunk of peanut butter also (with no pill in hers).  So Penny Lane says it’s all good.

So, all the above is to tell you I haven’t any quilting progress pictures to show you.  I hope you will have some to show me, and I promise to have some Drunkard’s Path progress for you next Monday.  Please link up below and also talk about Design Wall Mondays in your blog.  Also please include a link back to this post.  Thank you.

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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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Design Wall Monday - August 13, 2018

Here's a picture of a finished redwork quilt, taken on the bench on my front porch:

Years and years and years ago, my friend Dee embroidered a set of squares in redwork.  She completed all the embroidery except for the French knots.  She didn't like to do French knots, or didn't know how to make them, I can't remember which.  But I did all the French knots for the squares, and then Dee gave them to me to make something out of them.  When I told her yesterday that I was finishing the old project, she couldn't even remember doing the squares.

Years and years ago, I made red and white double nine patches for them, and joined the project into a quilt top.  It is not large enough for a bed, but larger than a normal wall hanging......maybe it could be a table topper.  Or used on a couch.

Closeups of squares:

For many years it sat in the unfinished projects pile.  This year, I took it to my long-arm quilter, and it is now quilted with an allover pattern.  This week, I found the binding I had made years ago (which is a miracle, if I do say so myself) and it is now bound and ready for a label and hanging sleeve.

You can't see any of this from a galloping horse, but here's some workmanship details:  It is 55 inches square, give or take a 1/2 or 3/4 inch.  The embroidered squares are about 7 1/4 inches and the red squares in the nine patches are about 3/4 inch finished.  The math then calculates out to nine patches which are 2 1/4 square, and three across would be 6 3/4 inches for one double nine patch.....not matching up with the embroidered squares of 7 1/4 inches at all, but as I said before......this was a long long, long time ago.  I can see how much I have improved in seam accuracy and in piecing.  But finished is better than perfect on any day, right?

Here is a current picture of Miss Penny Lane, who is now about 30 pounds.  She is so much fun and has made me get outside and walk much more than I did before I had a dog, so she is good for my health.  Plus all around fun every day.

It's Design Wall Monday!  What are you going to show us today?  I love to see everyone's design walls.  Today I am going to pour a cup of coffee, and enjoy the sight.  Thank you all for participating.

The rules are simple - if you would like to link up with Design Wall Monday, please refer back to this particular blog post somewhere within your post.  I am going to try to comment more this week on your projects, too.  

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