Fun Busyness

It has been a fun and busy week.  In between it all, I have managed to squeeze in a lot of quilting too.  That's a win/win in my books.

The grandchildren's school auction is coming up in two weeks.  Since last year's quilt was such a hit, my DIL asked if I would do another kindergarten quilt this year.  The room moms helped the children with the blocks and they are now in a finished quilt.

Another great project that I got to work on this week was a Thomas Fire quilt that my sister had sewn.  This will go to a special recipient - the current owner of our parent's old home that burned down in the fire.  We have named the quilt Horizon Sunsets as the home was on Horizon Drive and had views of spectacular sunsets over the ocean.  The backing that my sister made is as beautiful as the front and could easily make the quilt reversible.

My temperature quilt continues to grow as February moves along.  It has finally cooled off a bit, but as you can see, there is another red square meaning it went over 90*.

I had an e-mail from Cher who has also been following along with the Temperature quilt project.  She does not have a blog so I asked her if I could share her photo on my blog.  Look at the difference between our two temperatures.  She is more like my sister's.  I love how she did her 2018.  Thanks for joining us, Cher

A few months ago Gosia from Quilts My Way had a QAL with circular quilting patterns.  It was such fun to play along and it really gave me more confidence in sewing circles.  An extra bonus to joining the sewalong is that I was a winner of one of the prizes.  A special package arrived this week.  Can you imagine how excited I was when I opened this?

The lovely supply of threads will be put to good use and the fabrics are amazing.  Not only are they gorgeous, but they feel incredible.  These will have to be in a special project.  Thank you so much, Gosia.

It will be a good week ahead too.  My sister is coming from Alaska for our mom's 95th birthday and we have lots of quilting plans while she is here.  We are also planning a day at Quilt Con.

Temperature Quilt 2017

Happy New Year!  I can't believe the holidays are now behind us.  Have you started shopping for next year yet?  It will be here before we know it.

The end of the year also meant the end of recording temperatures and making blocks for my Temperature Quilt 2017.   I was saddened to see it come to an end, but really like the finish.

This was a quilt that I did along with my sister (IG alaskanquilter).  Needless to say, my temperatures in California are considerably different from hers in Alaska.  This was her finish.  I loved her colors and I also thought  her use of geese flying north or south depending on temperatures above or below freezing was brilliant.

We've had requests to do a QAL for a Temperature Quilt 2018.  After discussing it with each other, we have decided to do it.  Last year we used the Flying Geese pattern and are thinking of doing either a Square in a Square or a Pinwheel pattern for 2018.  We would love to have everyone join us.

I will post the Kona colors that we used, our temperature breakdowns, details and instructions in a few days.  Between Alaska temps and California temps, we should be able to cover most temperatures.  Of course, you can use any colors and fabrics that you would like.  Meanwhile, please keep a log of your temperatures until you are ready to sew.

In other sewing, the big reveal for On Ringo Lake came out for New Years.  The last few clues were fast and furious so I've been plucking away on block construction.  I really love the way it is coming together.

I'll be back in a few days with all of the details for the QAL.

Elephants and Giraffes, Oh My

Several years ago I participated in the Elephants on Parade QAL and made the cute quilt for our last grandchild.  The quilt was so much fun to make and made me a follower of Sew Fresh Quilts.  Lorna has another really cute pattern called Giraffes in a Row.  With another new grandbaby due any day now, I made the giraffes to go along with the elephants.

Giraffe by giraffe, this quilt came together quickly.  With each new giraffe, I was certain that one was my favorite.

I even added a purple polka dot one to the back because they were so much fun.  I still think my favorite is orange.  Which one is yours?

My giraffes were helped along with fabric from Wendy.  I recently won a flat rate box full of solids from Wendy.  I had been really struggling with finding the "right" green and the perfect one was found in the box she sent.  How much fabric do you think one can fit into a flat rate box?  Just look at this.  I think if I travel again I want Wendy to pack my suitcases for me.

My Temperature Quilt continues to grow.  Sadly, I had to go back to the green this week when our low one night dropped down to 39*.  I thought we were done with that stuff.

Ramona is also doing a Temperature quilt.  Her blocks are a great combination of colors - a mix between my sister in Alaska and mine in California.

We've had several birthdays in the family this week.  It's always fun to join in the celebrations.

This is a special time of the year when the little ones make their First Communions.  We have two grandchildren making theirs in the next few weeks, including this one.  The veil that she will wear is the one that her mom wore, and that I wore, when we made our First Communions.  Like me, it is officially an antique!!  How quickly the years pass!

We've been battling the Influenza B in the family this week.  It has not been fun.  I'm ready for flu season to be over.

Have a great weekend.

Temperature Quilt 2018 QAL

As noted in my previous post, my sister (IG alaskanquilter) and I are going to be doing a Temperature Quilt 2018.  We will link it up on Instagram at #sistempquilt, #tempquilt18 and #temperaturequilt2018.  I will also try to figure out how to add a linky to my blog so we can follow everyone's progress each month.

The QAL will run for the full year and you can start your year whenever you would like.  Ideally, you will make one block each day, but life does not always agree with that idea.  At times this year, I was doing a week of blocks at once.  Just be sure to keep track of your temperatures each day.

Should you happen to miss a day or so, I found that going to Weather Underground helped me find what the temperature was for any particular date.  If you click on the 10 day forecast button it will take you to the page with the "history" section. You can even sign up to have your temperatures sent to you in an e-mail each day.

For 2017 my sister and I selected to do the Flying Geese block.  I did a 2"x4" goose block with the goose reflecting my high temperature for the day and the sky part reflecting the low temperature.  My sister made hers with a 1.5"x3" goose.  She also, very cleverly, made her goose fly north or south depending on her temperatures being above or below freezing.  Of course, she lives in Alaska and that was not an option for me living in California - thank goodness!  My 2x4 blocks ended up making a quilt approximately 48"x62" before sashing and borders.  My sister's makes a good sized wall hanging at approximately 36"x 46.5".

These are our two very different looking finished blocks.

In deciding our colors, we broke the color changes every four degrees.  Many people have requested that we share the colors that we used to represent our temperatures.  We used Kona solids and this is a list of our "blended" temperatures with the reflected colors.

-20 through -23: 412 Nautical
-16 through -19: 1243 Navy
-12 through -15: 458 Storm
-8 through -11: 454 Prussian
-4 through -7: 1314 Royal
0 through -3: 90 Pacific
1 through 4: 494 Malibu
5 through 8: 171 Water
9 through 12: 405 Algeria
13 through 16: 497 Niagra
17 through 20: 442 Capri
21 through 24: 1061 Candy Green
25 through 28: 498 Parrot
29 through 32: 1072 Chartreuse
33 through 36: 472 Cabbage
37 through 40: 254 Sprout
41 through 44: 199 Cactus
45 through 48: 23 Lemon
49 through 52: 1481 Banana
53 through 56: 148 Daffodil
57 through 60: 353 Sunflower
61 through 64: 350 Cheddar
65 through 68: 1704 Ochre
69 through 72: 349 Butterscotch
73 through 76: 1479 Amber
77 through 80: 443 Cedar
81 through 84: 482 Terracotta
85 through 88: 150 Paprika
89 through 92: 352 Ruby
93 through 96: 1480 Chinese Red
97 through 100: 1551 Rich Red
101 through 104: 1063 Cardinal
105 through 108: 1296 Poppy
109 through 112: 7 Tomato
113 through 116: 1194 Lipstick
117 through 120: 323 Flame

Please feel free to use whatever fabrics and colors you would like to represent your temperatures.

Another question that has been asked is "how much fabric do I need?"  That is a great question.  I looked at my own range of temperatures and ordered 1/2 yard of each for my geese.  I ended up needing a little more of the mid range temperatures and less of my highs and lows.  The nice thing about using the Kona was that I was able to reorder the three fabrics that I needed.

I cut my pieces as I needed, but my sister had a great storage idea for hers.  This certainly would make things easier to sew when sitting down to put your sections together.

This was my method, sad to say.

The block we have chosen to do this year is a Square in a Square.  The finished size of the block will measure 3".  Placing our blocks side to side this year rather than up and down, we should end up with 18 blocks across and 21 rows down - measuring approximately 54" x 63".  If you would like to do this block with us, I have written out instructions for it below.  

Cut one high temperature square (yellow) at 2 5/8" square.  Cut (2) 3" low temperature (green) squares in half diagonally.

Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew two green triangles to two opposite sides of the yellow - centering the square on the triangles.

Press to the green and trim the dog ears.  *Ironing all seems open makes for better nesting as you sew blocks and rows together.

Add the final two green triangles and press to the green.  

Lay a ruler with the 1.75" mark at the bottom corner and right hand corner of the yellow square.  Trim the bottom and right side.  Turn block around and repeat for the other two sides.  Block should now measure 3.5".  

We are looking forward to seeing all of the different quilts at the end of the year.

I will be linking this post up with Midweek Makers,  Quilts My Way and  Freemotion by the River.

Mid December Stitching

Life seems to be settling down a bit from the crazy pace of the last few months.  The days are drawing closer and I'm finding a few spare moments here and there for some stitching.  There is something relaxing about the time spent sewing.

I still have a few small projects to finish before Christmas, but I hope to get those done in the next few days.  Meanwhile, sewing a few minutes at a time helps to get the clues to the Bonnie Hunter Quiltville Mystery, On Ringo Lake, done.  I have managed to keep up - so far.  Clue #4 came out today and I had to give it a try.  I love these pieces - both the design and the colors.

The last few weeks have used the salmon color so I was happy to move away from that color.

A friend of mine had started a lovely quilt for her newest grandson.  She did such a nice job on the applique and was in the process of hand quilting it, but has been knocked down a bit by some medical problems.  Knowing she was not going to be able to complete it for Christmas, she asked if I would machine quilt the borders for her to finish it off.  I wish that I had the time to hand quilt it to complement her work, but the quilt is now finished and ready to be gifted.

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over and my Temperature Quilt is now in its final days.  November was a colorful one with some record breaking temperatures.  December has been exceptionally warm too.  I don't know why my one blue is showing up so dark in the photos, but I'll try to capture the whole year when the lighting is better.  It surely looks different from my sister's geese since she lives in Alaska.  You can see hers at IG alaskanquilter.

Puppy time is also consuming a lot of my free time.  One of us is definitely getting trained.  This little guy is such a love and wants to be wherever I am at all times.  Writing my Christmas cards, he was right there with a nose on my knee.

Sewing.....he sleeps in his bed right next to the sewing machine.

Computer time??? lol  It's tough to use the keyboard when he is sleeping on my wrist.

I'd say he is adjusting to his new home quite well.

The Thomas fire is still burning in our area with nearly 1000 structures now burned down and two deaths - one of a young firefighter yesterday.  Full containment is not expected until January 7th.  Our quilt guild and many others are joining the Ventura Modern Quilt Guild in making blocks for quilts for the victims.  It is an easy block to make if anyone is interested in participating.  This is from their website.

Good Bye, January

Holy cow....how can January be gone already?  They say time flies when you are having fun so I guess I must be having a LOT of fun.  My month has zipped past at a crazy speed.

Other than a lot of mending, my sewing has been relegated to finishing up some of the projects that I have in the works.  I have managed to complete all of the blocks for the Scrap Dance Waltz.  I have concentrated on doing it in two colors - blue and light gray - but of course my blues are all scrappy.  I just couldn't make a two color quilt with just two fabrics.  Now I need to consider what I will do for  borders on it.

We've had some summerlike weather this week.  I love the heat so it makes me really happy, but I am most excited about the high temps because that means I get to dip into some of my oranges in my Temperature Quilt (link on sidebar). 

The temps ranged from 32 - 86 degrees this month.  See that nice bright orange that go added? 

My sister who lives in Alaska is doing the Temperature Quilt as well.  It will be fun to compare them at the end of the year.  She, very cleverly, is including upside down geese on the days when the temperatures are below freezing.  She had ONE right side up goose for the month of January!!!  Although she has no blog, she can be found on IG under alaskanquilter. 

The temperatures have really confused my iris this year.  It is unusual that we should get blooms at this time of the year, but hey have been blooming since late October.  Guess they are just a bit mixed up. 

Time marches on.....enjoy the short month of February.

Linking up this week with Midweek Makers and Tuesday Linky Party at Freemotion by the River.

Temperature Quilt QAL Update

Month one is down and we are now well into the second month of our Temperature Quilt QAL.  I hope everyone is keeping up AND enjoying the process as we move into February.  We have had exceptionally warm temperatures in our area and my month of colors definitely reflects that fact.  I even had to move into the real reds this past week.  I was able to add the second row to my first and I am really enjoying the secondary block that appears when the two rows come together.

We do need a bit more winter and definitely more rain before our rainy season ends next month.  If you are sewing along with us, how are your colors?  Be sure to check out the other participants on IG at #sistempquilt18 #tempquilt2018 and #temperaturequilt2018

Slowly, but surely, my On Ringo Lake quilt has come together.  I had it all spread out on the living room floor as that was the only place big enough to put it all down.  Thus, I HAD to work on it to clean up the floor!  Good planning, right????  Sewing in bits and spurts, I finally finished it yesterday.  I really love the way it turned out.  Now...to get it quilted.

Of course, all was not easy sailing with a pup who thought the new flooring was quite interesting.  Need I say that there were many pieces displaced in a short amount of time?

The weather has been so warm and inviting all to enjoy the great outdoors.  The roses, despite still blooming, needed to be pruned and sprayed for the year.  Three days later over 100 bushes are done.  Doesn't it look "wintery" now???  lol

A few more blooms from the garden...

We took a stroll on the beach and were amazed at all of the debris that has washed down from the recent rains and slides post fire.

The tide was out and Toby enjoyed the tide pools.

A bit more emergency sewing went on here.  A special little one lost her first tooth.

Our Gridster Bee Queen this month is Elizabeth and her request was for food basket blocks.  She provided the food fabrics and we made the rest with our choice of fabrics.

I've had some really fun mail lately.  The first comes from Sherry.  I had remarked about the darling Mah Jongg fabric that she was using to create cute little origami coin bags.  I was completely surprised and delighted when one arrived in my mail.  The little purse is like a puzzle!  She placed a shiny copper penny in one pocket and it ends up in BOTH pockets when they are opened.

Five of us formed a group called Sewing With Friends a few years ago.  We have done row robins and round robins in the past and this year we are swapping fabric postcards.  This one arrived from Lynette.  The colors are so pretty and the construction is perfect.

Is everyone looking forward to the Olympics?  What is your favorite event.  It's a tough choice between the ice skating and skiing for me.