In the Done Column

For the last few days, I've been binding, binding and binding.  I bound six quilts using some new, more precise methods.  That's about 1200 inches of binding but, who is counting?  I have to admit I was getting a little bored but pressed on so I can finish these.  All but one are charity quilts, mostly flannels.  I have one more pin basted, ready to quilt and bind.

I've also gotten caught up on my local Friendship Group's blocks.  Back in Ohio, it seemed that the stress of Friendship was fabric selection.  Here, all of the fabric is provided, often pre-cut.  That can be a different kind of stress--especially when paper piecing is involved (e.g. are you a measurer or a just cut off a chunk person?).

I'm also prepping things for the May retreat and planning not to overpack.  :-)  I keep feeling tempted to add some time to the trip to drive to Pittsburgh so that I can see what is happening at my mom's house.  I usually end up deciding that it is a bad idea to combine the best of things with some of the worst of things.   We haven't gotten any executor updates since she passed away in August.

I've been doing spending more time introspectively since retirement and, also, challenging myself to do things that I'm not good at.  All of that feels like work, hard work, but I'm trying to better myself.  Lately, I've been riding my bike on the nearby desert path.  I'm terrible at maneuvering, etc. so I try to pick times to ride when no one else is out there (read:  when it's HOT). So far, so good out in the desert but I definitely need a lot more experience with the streets, sidewalks, and traffic.  In due time.

Plan B and C

Well, I had good intentions but Friday was kind of a rescheduling mess.  We have been working for weeks to get a contract signed to remodel our bathroom after a destructive leak.  We ended up needing to go to the tile store once again on Friday plus the local quilt shop had to cancel the Friday night get together.  The two hand projects I intended to work on are a bit of a slog so I guess I should just look ahead.

I worked on my Bonnie Hunter leader/ender blocks.  I believe I have 50 blocks now. I'm still not sure if it will be one or more quilts since one of the goals was to use up some of the medium to large batik scraps. Here are a few blocks together to give you an idea.

I also bound the smallest community service quilt using a slightly different process.  It still resulted in a bit of a wave.  I attached the binding to another one but, unfortunately, attached the binding to the front so I'll probably hand tack that one. That won't be a great test of the new steps but it will get finished.  The next two to be bound both use the same pattern so I'm working on those as a pair.  I thought my big table that I store in the garage would be away this week for a neighbor's party but, since that was cancelled, maybe I'll set that up and see if it helps with all of the squaring and measuring.

I cracked open the BOM that will become my new retreat project.  I made a fabric swatch chart and I'm formulating a plan to break it down and do some kitting/precutting to make it more portable.  The instructions do a lot of oversizing and squaring but I plan to use triangle paper and other techniques for some of the units.

Refocusing for 2023

 Hi friends!

I can't believe it's been two years since my last post.  After retiring at the end of January, I continue to be surprised that I'm not doing more sewing each day.  I thought maybe blogging would help build some new habits.

Our usual daily routine starts with Mike and Brady going to the nearby bus stop at 6:30 a.m.  When Mike gets home, we take Sherman for a walk and then I go running and Mike takes a bike ride.  After many long years on the couch working from home, I'm making exercise a priority.  Mike also found a new life outlook in January and has lost a lot of weight. I had thought that I'd be staying up late after retirement but we are both usually pretty tired and typically in bed by 11.  We are hoping to do a Grand Canyon hike in October so we try to build in 1-2 hikes per week.  It's going to get more difficult as the summer heat creeps in.

I thought I'd work on a combination of ancient UFOs and more recent sidelined projects but, so far, I'm doing some easy things like Bonnie Hunter's leader and ender challenge and I'm keeping up with monthly commitments such as the Friendship Group I'm in with the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild.  I try to attend a twice per month sewing get together at the local library and a once a month sew in at a local quilt shop.  Not wanting to be derailed with my home sewing, I've been taking things that don't require a machine.  I often do cutting or a fused mosaic project that my former guild taught.  On deck, I also have the hand-pieced apple core that I started at Erie Street and, even more properly aged, I'm chipping away at the embroidery on the Rolfe foundation pieced animal blocks that I started in a foundation piecing intro class at Erie Street (1996?).  I'm trying to follow Mary Huey's advice to try to fit in a few minutes of sewing and see where it takes me. I'd also like to start journaling my sewing progress as a way to keep motivated and celebrate progress.

I finished the machine quilting on 6 community service quilts, mostly made from flannels that seem to find their way to me from the charity stash (most folks here avoid flannels).  I'd like to try new binding techniques that a fellow PHXMQG member taught to the guild.  I've been dissatisfied with my binding for a while now--things lie flat until I bind them then they have a wave.  I need to slow down and refocus on the basics until my results are better.

Tomorrow is a library day and the quilt shop session in the evening so maybe I'll have some progress to show this weekend!