Hello and welcome to the tenth Monthly Quilt Update of 2019. Have you joined us in our theme for this year? Do you know what it is? Here is your hint and if you want to know all about it -- here is your LINK. Always remember that in this group all links open in a separate window so you don't lose your place here AND there are no ads or popups EVER.
If you are new to the blog, you may be asking, "just what is a monthly update?" I decided long ago that I just can't keep up with blogging daily. I just can't. Sooooo, what happens is I document a day in my life within one post and if something special happens, a separate post takes place. See, you can stay caught up with a once a month check and then, if you're interested, see the other posts too. It's a great system for me.
In years past, I have set goals for each month and I will continue to do that simply to keep myself on track. I AM still in UFO mode around here and trying oh so hard to use or clean out the stash. It will be an ongoing project this year. If I want something to come in -- something has to go out. That is one goal. The balance change each month (hopefully) and will always show up at the bottom of the update if you read that far - and they are joined by links to the previous monthly updates for the year.
Now, grab a cuppa and sit back for a fun read and perhaps a new idea or two. (P.S. I format on a computer, so if you are reading on a phone, well sometimes the pictures will be before or after the story. It is what it is.)
1st - October has arrived and it is by far my favorite month of the year. Starting out the day by working on retreats helps my heart too. I'm at it ALL day. Goodness. There is always just one more thing to do. So many plans in the works and trying to coordinate them all just takes time. Meeting Stephannie for lunch was a bright spot in an otherwise tedious day.
2nd - I am packing for retreat. It's about time since it starts tomorrow. However, I am simply not on top of the costume this time and so have decided to go as a quilt batting. The theme is "Going Batty" so it works, but just barely.3rd - It's a beautiful morning. Even if the weather hadn't been wonderful, just heading to Brazos makes the statement true. With the crossing of each cattle guard, my heart beats a bit quicker.
The group goes into Granbury for lunch and a stop at a new quilt shop takes place after bellies are happy. Please check out Sew Much Love along with me in this Shop LINK.
Back at the center, I finally get set up for the day. No sewing machine as I have other types of projects that need to be completed. I've been in a constant state of behind for awhile now and am hoping to ease the panic a bit. You can follow along in this Retreat LINK to share in all of our fun. It's a beautiful location filled with beautiful people.
4th - For Day 2 of retreat, I am finally getting around to cutting out the required quilt parts for a granddaughter that will be making her appearance next month. What do you think of these? It will be a small car quilt.
All the pieces have been cut.
Four patches are laid out.
It is kitted and ready to go, as is the main baby quilt for her. Yay --- a little productivity goes a long ways in reducing stress.
As a reward --- river time.
5th - Clue 6 for the mystery released this morning and you can follow along in this Clue 6 LINK.My plan for today is to get the baby's tricot quilt marked and ready. Yes, each of my grands get three quilts. They all have different purposes and places to be used. The marking requires me to crawl around on the floor for a bit and this time I'm having to move the pattern four times as it is the center of a much larger quilt. Nothing like making things hard for myself.
Ahhhh, country life.
6th - Dang it anyway. We have to say good-bye to Brazos and each other. Everyone sticks around for a bit visiting and making it last as long as we can. Then it's Brazos Out and back home we go. Mister and I make it to Wingstop for dinner and then bed. I'm beat.7th - My voice has changed over the past couple of years and with the test results being so strange the last couple months, my doctor thinks perhaps there is an issue with my vocal chords. Today we find out as I have an ENT appointment. However, it shows that all is well and that my vocal chords are just being lazy. Well, that's an easy description for a much more details diagnosis but other than that -- no disease of any kind. I guess the hunt continues. The rest of the day is used up developing pictures and working on blog/retreat stuff/etc.
8th - I'm having to buckle down and make some more progress on the mystery. Along with pictures from retreat and blogging, it's another computer day.9th - More mystery work and and blogging in addition to setting up a couple of quilt-a-longs for 2020. Witch's Night Out by It's Sew Emma will begin in January and Talking Turkey does the same in February. One is all new to me, the other a UFO which gives me hope of a completion. At least my fingers are crossed for it.
10th - It's my 9th Anniversary!! Although earlier this summer, I was convinced that it was the 10th, the calendar does not lie. I guess I'll just hold onto that gift for a year. The day is spent working on my mystery, doing laundry, unpacking, etc. My sweet Mister surprises me with the most delightful dinner out. Please take the time to check out this Shabu-shabu LINK and perhaps give it a try yourself.
11th - I have September caught up on the blogs and it's not the middle of the month yet. That's an improvement right? My BIG GOAL for 2020 will be to have everything blog related caught up daily. What an amazing thing that would be. Habits only take 21 days to stick. I can do it.It's chilly today and my slippers have come out to play. Ahhhh.
Some additional mystery work that contains lots of crazy sewing also occupies several hours. Jen stopped by and picked up furniture from cleaning out Mom's apartment so dinner out was had. Nice. Upon her departure, it is back to pictures and clue posts being written. Breathe girl, breathe.12th - Another clue releases today and you can follow along in this Clue 7 LINK. The parts are really starting to be fun. Time with family for the evening and an Octoberfest party in Los Colinas.
13th - I'm feeling like a broken record but each day is pretty much the same for me right now. More mystery work/writing takes place before spending time with my sweetheart. Lunch is tex-mes, then a wine shop stop, a curious shop stop --- talk about strange.Look at these cool molas that I found while shopping in the curious shop. At the last retreat, Maria had been working on a quilt that contained them. How odd for me to run across them and actually know what they are. I love that I am exposed to so many different things through the ladies I associate with.
Then, back home for more work before some evening time together. I have the backing made for the mystery quilt, along with binding and label. It's ready to quilt.Somehow during all of that I did manage to get the car loaded for tomorrow. A surprise opportunity has shown itself and I'm off to spend time with friends once again.
14th - In the wee dark hours, I am driving to Athens for a stay at Sherri's. It's just what the doctor ordered and I can get my mystery quilted at the same time as the machine there is an old friend. Share with us in this B&B POST.
15th - It's been a GREAT couple of days and I am fortunate enough to stay over a second night. Both quilt tops for baby are together and that means I can move forward there too. A little less pressure on me. These women are such balm for my soul. I could not imagine life without them in it.
The picture on this looks so different than it does in real life. Perhaps because it is LATE evening.
16th - Once again, in the wee hours, I am driving -- this time home as I have some chores to do before I pick up two grands at the airport. Clean up the house, prepare for kids, laundry, and various other tasks occupy the day. The mail stack nets me this great picture from O. My heart is just smiling so much that it is leaking onto my face all day. Before I know it, another trip to the airport provides me with my sweet charges for this week. As soon as we are home, we grab Grandpa and walk to Tony's for dinner. Please share in our fun together in this Days 1 & 2 LINK.
17th - We are at the fair today and I take a few minutes to enjoy the things I love. This gentleman was making hats and baskets on an industrial Singer and I had to stop and watch a bit.
I checked out the quilts too -- the one on the right is the Best in Show.
Here are a few more pieces of eye candy for you. I wish I had stories, but these are waaaaay up high and even getting pictures is difficult. If you zoom in, there are names on them that you can read.
And --- check out this years butter sculpture. She's quilting!!! I love it.
18th - More fun with grands and today we are exploring the Arboretum. You can see all that we do in this Days 3-5 LINK. The kaleidoscope of colors is always a hit and always makes me think of quilts.
For some color inspiration --- look no further than nature itself.
19th - Another mystery clue is releasing this morning. Are you playing along? Here is your Clue 8 LINK to see all that we are doing. Loving these Storm at Sea Blocks.
Zoo time with the grands. Ahhhh, the memories being made.
20th - Sadly, we have to say good-bye to these treasures today. Those are never good days.
After dropping them, a new coffee shop is explored and we run into an old friend from OHB. Communion Coffee in Richardson is not only a coffee shop, but a restaurant and event center as well.Keeping busy when you are sad is paramount -- hence, Huffhines Art Trails is next. We discovered this fall festival a few years ago and really enjoy it. Each time I find at least one treasure -- will today go the same?
I LOVE this sign --- whether it is true or not (not).
Ooooh, I did it. I found a very cool booth and gifts are coming.
We end the day with a stop at OHB and way too much beer. I'll be avoiding that for awhile.
21st - As we slept last night, Dallas was hit with a tornado. We did hear the sirens and get up to check on things, but didn't realize how close to us it came. What a mess. Our favorite garden shop is basically destroyed along with many other business and homes. I am so sad for the people having to deal with all of this but, fortunately, no one was killed. That's a blessing. This is a picture of North Haven Gardens where I held a Red Hat event earlier in the year. Ugh.
I am packing, doing laundry and preparing for my trip to Montana. Then it's off to the airport and a freaking long day. Come and follow along on my adventure in this Montana Days 1-3 LINK. For today, it's just flight after flight after flight followed by a drive and a bed. I'm beat.
22nd - Shopping in Kalispell with Sis and Mom is the major task for the day. I do manage to get some binding in before the trip to town though. What a beautiful day we have. My evening fun is finishing this project and I have a TA-DA!!! Sapphire Blues is ready for the reveal. Whew!! That is some stress reduction just in writing it. As I'm showing it to Mom, Bailey comes to check it out as well --- not really, he threw his ball down and wants me to play.
23rd - We are going on another cruise in the Our Quilt World group. I spent the morning booking our January 2021 Southern Caribbean adventure and if you are interested, please get in touch with me as I have a few rooms still available. After that, writing the final reveal for the mystery is tackled and I end the day picking up Mister at the airport in the wee hours. More things are checked off my list and I'm breathing a bit easier.24th - My son arrives and the fun just continues. Here is the Days 4 & 5 LINK to join in our fun.
25th - We are making progress towards preparations for the party. A bit of time in town makes my heart want to return. Jen and her family arrive to add to the merriment.
Three generations.
26th - It feels like the weeks are flying by. Sapphire Blues is coming along in the mystery group and it's fun to watch. Here is the Clue 9 LINK for today's release. It's getting really close now.Today is Mom's 80th Birthday party. The reason we are up here. The queen for the day. Please come along and see the fun --- yep, lots and lots of smiles everywhere. Here is the Day 6 Party LINK. All the work paid off and we had a great turnout. I'm so very glad this took place and that we had a chance to reconnect once again.
27th - Family time is just plain awesome and I need to make some changes to have more of it. I don't realize how much it's an empty part of my life until I have weeks like this. Saying good-bye, even to those I'll see in Texas, is always hard. The last few days of my fun can be shared in this Days 7-10 LINK. I am really not taking a lot of pictures, just enjoying the time.
28th - My sweet man is flying home to Dallas today and is greeted with snow for his departure. Perfect. Driving in it is one of the things that I really don't miss. As we are going to the airport, he comments, "You really want to move back up here?" I agree that my state is not helping me out right now. It's cold and icky big time and only October. Sigh.
30th - It's almost the last day of the month. Wow. I cannot believe how quickly it went by. Some day I'm going to write, "this is the longest month ever" but I have no idea when. I am flying home today and wishing my mother an actual Happy Birthday.31st - Happy Halloween!!! As a gift, in the wee hours, the mystery reveal was released. Clue 10 and the finish can be found in this REVEAL LINK. Ya'll have already seen it though since this is a monthly post. I'm on my way to Houston with friends and since Bonnie's colors for the new Frolic mystery are out, a stop takes place. A girls gotta shop!!
Into Houston we go, and check into a room, drop stuff and head to the show. You can follow along in this Day One LINK to see the wonders of it all.
THIS is the best part!!!
This month is a wrap. I am hopeful that things will slow down a bit next month, but that may be a pipe dream. We'll see. Until then, stay creative and I'll see y'all on the interwebs.
UFO's to quilt:
BOM #1 - quilted and bound
BOM #2 - quilted and bound
BOM #3 - quilted and bound
Current Projects:
Crochet Afghan - Progress made
2019 Mystery - Sapphire Blues -- Clues 6 - Reveal DONE
UFO Items for This Month:
Ohio Star - set and backing/binding made
1 Row by Row block -
*Jamestown Landing -
*Smith Mountain Morning - quilted and bound
*Midnight Flight -
UFO Handwork Items:
1 Box finished for tea set -
Hand Quilting --
Links to Previous 2019 Monthly Posts:
January 2019 Quilt Update
February 2019 Quilt Update
March 2019 Quilt Update
April 2019 Quilt Update
May 2019 Quilt Update
June 2019 Quilt Update
July Quilt Update
August Quilt Update
September Quilt Update
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