Month: August 2020

August 30, 2020

August HQAL Update

I have been busy this month!!  Deconstructing the Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt

These flowers were previously attached to green hexi “leaves” and then attached to each other.  There are 18 separate flowers now.img_0209

These are all the green hexis that were used for the leaves and vines.  I did not count them, but there are lots!

I am so glad I finally made the decision to take this apart.  I was not feeling good about the project and now I’m feeling great.  I can’t wait to lay them out and organize them and start putting them together again.

I did finish a new flower and get part of the way done with another

I just love the little monsters!

Once again, I am excited to work on this project now that I can see a new path with it.

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Daisy, Monica and Sherrie

I am also sharing over at Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday.

August 23, 2020

August SAL Update

Whew!  Another three weeks has gone by!  Where does the time get to?  We are doing lots of gardening, organizing, cooking and baking.  We are getting into the rhythm of social distancing.  A couple of the kids are “back” at school – zooming.  And I have my regularly scheduled zooms several times a week.  It doesn’t replace the face-to-face interactions but it’s great to remain in contact with friends.

Without further ado, here is where I was at the last update:img_9776

And this is where I am now:img_0183

The patch is working just fine.   There is a section where you can see the threads from the upper fabric – I have a “snag-it” tool (given to me by a friend in my local EGA) that I will use to try to tease them to the back side, but I really am thinking about adding a thin piece of gold ribbon vertically to that area to hide it.  We will see how it looks when I’m done stitching.

I am enjoying this SAL as it is a place to work on a project of my choice and post about it specifically every three weeks.  Please take a look at the links below to see all the other talented stitchers taking part in this SAL:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

August 9, 2020

August HQAL Update

It’s time for the three week updater on our HQAL.  I’ve gotten a little bit done on the Grandmother’s Flower Garden.img_0131img_0132

There was a little bit of sewing.

And prepping of new hexis.

More hexis.

And more hexis prepped.

I have decided to take the whole thing apart.  Not the individual flowers, but all the green.  The way it is attached is a bit wonky and will never fit the table.  Hopefully by next time I’ll be ready to start stitching them together again.

It seems like every project I have going has some major fixes that need doing – this one, my big cross stitch (fixed, YAY!), a pair of socks that had been almost finished (completely ripped and restarted), and my garden is being devoured by the neighborhood rats.  We don’t poison the rats because there are so many cats around so we are building cages for the raised garden beds.  That is a huge chore!!

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Kathi, Daisy, Monica and Sherrie

August 2, 2020

SAL Update

I have not stitched on my SAL project for this update.  I am still excited that I found a solution to the challenge of placement on the fabric and I will be stitching again this week.  Here is the picture from last week:img_9870

What I had been doing instead was getting ready for our yearly family backpacking trip.  We gathered all our packs and gear, inspected them (some repairs were necessary – good hand sewing skills come in handy!) and then purchasing the rest that we needed.

We backpacked in the back country of Yosemite and it was gorgeous!  There was really no one else there – we did encounter one family on the way out and one on the way back, but it was super easy to distance.  Here are a couple of photos from our trip:img_1698

This picture is actually at then end.  We went int and out of this trail head.  I couldn’t find the picture from the start of the trip where our smiles were much bigger and we didn’t look quite so tired!img_1704

This year I used hiking poles for the very first time and they made such a huge positive difference!img_1754

Chain Lakes on our first night.  Such a gorgeous place!img_1757

Morning time on the second day!  Right after this photo was taken, two of the kids jumped into the lake and swam out to the island in the middle.  Such a fun time!

I should have more to show at our next update.  This is such a fun group of stitchers to be working with.  We are from all over the world and touch base once (or more!) every three weeks to show progress on one of our projects.  I am so grateful to everyone!  Please take a look at the other talented stitchers participating and if you’d like to join us, please contact Avis at the link below.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen