Our theme this year, Binding Us Together, is just so needed. If you didn't get a chance to check out the post explaining it all --- here is the LINK to the initial post. I'm looking forward to the direction this can take us all, but especially myself, if I give it a whirl. Sometimes stepping out of comfort zones is challenging, but it almost always allows for growth. Here we go: April is here! April is supposed to be full of showers and that makes me think of the color blue. However, no mental blues on the scene. Take some time this month to build friendships through time together. Take a road trip - share commonalities and allow yourself to be bound to others. It will be worth it.
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 each 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. There will be links throughout this update that go to related posts of MINE. They will open in a new window so that you can keep your place here. Just click on the hyper-links if you wish.
In years past, I have set goals for each month that I NEVER was able to reach. However, I NEED that guideline to follow, so I will continue to do that simply to keep myself on track. UFO mode will continue around here with minimal purchases (those who know me know that this has been a miserable failure so far this year), but also a few fun and new items will make an appearance now and then. The "hopeful attempts" will change each month 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 - Good Morning! Did you get fooled by anyone today? I LOVED the Yellowstone National Park article and I have to admit more than a few giggles and outright laughter escaped from me. A new month means new blocks for the Civil War sew-alongs. It's not too late to join in as two of them go all year and the third is a two-year project. Here are the April blocks and links to join the groups if you wish. Barbara Brachman Sampler
The number for this month's APQ Challenge is: 4. That is my Ruby Slippers quilt and I'm feeling good about it --- all I have to do is quilt and bind. After March, that feels good.
I am up super early this morning, posting and blogging like a crazy person, however, my time is coming to an end. We are meeting Jen and fam in Thurber, TX for lunch and to pick up the rack that I need for my upcoming trip to Ohio. Time to wake Mister and head out. Here is your Thurber LINK to find out about this wonderful piece of Texas history.
After we split up and started the return trek home, I mentioned a place in Weatherford that sounded interesting. Mister was up for it and so - off to the Boardwalk we went. Here is your LINK - check it out if you are in the area.
2nd - Good Morning! We are off to the zoo bright and early for some walking and baby watching. I've shared our fun in this POST. Go see the lovelies.
The rest of the day is just time with my sweetie, but we did get a picture of Illusions to share. TA-DONE.
3rd - I'm in the studio hunting down tea sets. Do I have two or three stashed away? Turns out it is 2 and some parts are missing. I need three sets. Yep, I'm going to get them all done at once and there are three girls under 4. My next goal was to locate a shop and purchase greenware. I found a new set I like AND am able to get the saucers for the set on the right below. Win, win.
4th - With a trip in a little over a week, I'm motivated to get as many of the committed items out of the way before that. Out to the studio first thing and Al Fresco is quilt. I'll work on binding during the evenings this week.
5th - Sooooo many items on the list for today. Bit and pieces of many things. First thing, though, is to find the machine in the studio. How do I do this?
6th - I'm off and running first thing this morning. My Barbara Brachman Civil War blocks are on the beginning of today's tasks. While the oatmeal cooks, I get them laid out and head to the machine.
I have to admit that this month was EASY and I'm thankful. They are done and ready to have their post set up.
Sewcialites came out today -- cut and ready, blurry and all. AND . . . drumroll please - I got a new thread holder today. It has four sides, rotates and can even add 9 dowels to the top. I'll be spending days rounding up all the thread to put on it.
When I cleaned up the studio yesterday, I brought in all the partially filled bobbins setting around and used them up as top thread while working on projects. I have 6 to go back to the longarm - YES! and two for my 301. Perfect. I still have some to empty, but that's progress.
7th - I couldn't sleep much last night so was up until almost 2 a.m. organizing various upcoming projects and making lists/schedules. The brain needed to be emptied, I guess. However, it made it so that I knew just what to do first thing this morning. While the oatmeal cooked, I made a hanging sleeve for a wall quilt that I received in an exchange years ago and it has been sitting in the "to do" stack. I'm trying, I say, trying. Hopefully, tonight I will get it attached. By 9 a.m. I had the back and label for the Puzzler quilt done and it's ready to quilt.
I'm feeling good about where I am in the office, so back to the cutting table. In the wee hours, I found fabric to go with this Sew Sampler project --- let's get it cut. It's another project for the Ohio trip.
8th - Mister slept in and I was super non-productive. One would think I had DAYS to get ready for a trip. Walked down to the coffee shop, but no proof as neither of us took a phone with us. Unheard of, right? It's pretty cool now and then. Once we got back home, Mister worked on his new speaker stands and I headed to the studio. A short time later, Ruby Slippers is coming off the frame.
For our evening fun, OHB has it's annual Adult Easter Egg hunt and we are off for some fun. Four gift cards came home with us as a result. Pretty cool since we only had three eggs. For more pics of the fun - here is your LINK.
9th -
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Mister is sleeping in so I'm off to the studio to tackle a few more items on my list. In order to load the Puzzler quilt, I really need to tackle the batting remnant pile and it's easy since I've cleared the area around my machine. Two long seams later and I have TWO battings ready to go.
Now to finish loading the Puzzler top. It's ready for stitching - just not sure if I'll get to it before my trip. Time will tell.While I'm back here and my sweetie is still sleeping, I finish off the applique on the last of the Row by Row blocks I've been working on the past two months. All I have to do now is bury threads and it'll be another checkmark for me. Of course, there are more to start and someday I'll be able to say that I don't have anymore of them to do. It'll happen, right?
Black thread on black is always fun. I get the hanging sleeve attached by hand, only to discover that I've put it on the side instead of the top. Drat. Off it comes and back on in the right place. Well, that took a bit longer than I anticipated, but at least this has been in my to-do stack since I got it at a wall-hanging exchange during the beach retreat in 2019. Yep, that's along time when all it needed was a hanging sleeve since it didn't come with one. Now, I just need to get the perfect rod for it and get it hung. I won't let that take as long - shopping is always more fun.Mister has his new speaker stands set up - Now to determine what he is going to do with the old ones. I've been working on the binding for Ruby Slippers, but a break to make a nice Easter dinner for the two of us. So, so yummy and possibly the best ham we've ever made.
Back to the binding after dinner and I am TA-DONE!!! This was my APQ Challenge this month and I'm not finishing on the last day. Hallelujah. It's been a very productive Sunday -- a little odd. My list is pretty cleaned up, so once the house is done, I may be able to fit in something else. We shall see.
10th - So - a bit of a mundane day today. You know all those tiresome chores? Laundry and decluttering the house so that I can clean it tomorrow. Such fun, but the reason is fabulous. Friends start arriving tomorrow afternoon and then we are off to Ohio. There is sooooo much stuff sitting around that knowing where to start is hard. Once the laundry is going and my bed has been stripped, it is a good place to lay out quilts for rolling. As I start, I realize that I haven't done any labels. I find a pen and it just doesn't want to cooperate, but the task is finally done. I didn't realize there had been so many lately.
At least a few quilty things today -- mail call happened and I was soooo thankful so that it didn't arrive while I was gone. I finally gave in and bought the pastel batiks I've been drooling over for a year now and Shabby Fabrics sucked me into another fun project as well. It's all good. I'm pretty much set for 2024 as well. Can I keep this pace up?
Jenny Doan's Christmas box went on sale this afternoon and I managed to get one. Woot woot --- that was soooooo much fun last year.
Part of the process around here has been cleaning things out and the other day, I managed to tackle several drawers in the studio. One had the trimmings from design walls made LONG ago. Long white flannel strips that I now cut down into 5" squares and TWO Sets of flannel sample cards from even longer ago during a United Notions warehouse trip were cut as well. A couple of rag quilts are in the making --- since I've managed to accumulate enough batting scraps for the jelly roll rugs I wanted to make, now the leftovers will go to these for a bit. I need a backing fabric for the second set as there was only enough white for one quilt. It's on my list for Ohio. With that - I'm pretty much done for today. I'm tired and by the time I get dinner made and cleaned up, I'm calling today DONE.11th - Up early and clean, clean, clean. By 11 I'm able to shower and run some errands. Whew. I have added some items to my shopping list. I want to make these bags, but am not happy with what I have on hand. We'll see what happens. The picture is so I have it with me while in Ohio.
What can I say? Once Sherri arrives, I have perma-grin. We have such a nice evening just visiting and chatting with Mister. Dinner is Pho and how easy is that --- especially since we went out. She has brought me a new turtle for my collection and I LOVE it. It's from Costa Rica. At some point we have to call it a night and get some sleep -- how much is always questionable since we're a bit excited for tomorrow to arrive. 12th - Morning does arrive and Stephannie has arrived, we are loaded and ready to hit the road. Here is the Days 1 and 2 LINK so that you can see all the fun we have along the way. It's gonna be grand.
Of course, stops at quilt shops happen. Here is the Bedwarmer LINK - where we somehow were the first to arrive.
13th - Good morning ---- Breakfast as a ground and then we are hitting the road again.
14th - Waking in Louisville, we are ready for our group to grow some more. Here is the Days 3 & 4 LINK for all the antics and fun. Breakfast, first.
Then it's to our friend, Irene's quilt shop. Here is the Cotton to Quilts Spotlight to check out her beautiful store. At this point we have been joined by Ramona, Linda, Carla, and Irene. That's it - all 11 are together and ready for the next leg.
Cotton to Quilts purchases --- some flannel for a rag quilt project and then a couple of kits that were just too cute. I'm going to be ready when the next baby comes along.
Final stop for today is in Millersburg, OH. This will be our home away from home for the next 6 days.
15th - Wanna know where we are?
I'm trying to stick to my list after my dismal failure in Louisville. Today - 2 light Civil War prints to use for borders/sashing on my sew-along quilts.
16th - The weather is not so wonderful today so it's a stay put and sew day. We need those as well. Here is the Days 5 & 6 LINK for all the crazy - as usual. Here's a glimpse of our sewing room.
The rest of the time I work on LU blocks and get all the ones done that I brought the right amount of pieces for. How annoying is that? ARGH. Moving on.
17th -It's a nicer day, so we are out for just the morning. We've gone to Charm and I have to admit -- it's pretty charming.
This store was a very dangerous stop for me. The first store was all soft and fuzzy. Oh my. I found kits, patterns, and even a lamb that needed to come home with me.
The second store was equally fun. Yep, fun. I've been looking for the perfect panel to do a Kaleidoscope quilt and the minute I saw this one - I knew I'd found it. Trouble was that they didn't have 6 of them, just the ones in the wall hanging kit. Well, dang. It didn't stop me though. I bought the kit, went online and ordered the panels, bought one of the borders, and ordered the second one. The fabric actually beat me home. (I've shown it all together here.)
Second stop is Plaid Sheep and, again, a dangerous store. Everything purchased was impulse and not on a list. However, I LOVE it. I got a pattern for a vest and the fabric, a wool pattern and a piece of wool, along with some wonderful soap.
We got back in time for lunch and went for Salt and Vinegar wings - the best EVER.
18th - We are a week into our vacation and here is the Days 7 and 8 LINK. Another morning adventure is taking place and we are off to Navarre for a highly recommended shop visit. They were not kidding and I'm in love with this store. Give a click on this AnnaLouisa's Quilt Shop LINK to see how amazing it really is.
I found one last Civil War Piece, some patterns and a Simple Whatnot kit. Seriously? What rock have I been under that I new NOTHING about Simple Whatnots. I'm now on the hunt for more.
19th - It's our last full day here and we have one more shop to check out. It's called Somewhere Sewing and had, literally, thousands of bolts of fabric, all sorted alphabetically by design house.
It was here that I found an elusive piece of Corey Yoder's Apricot and Ash. It may have been a unicorn and the last one in the wild.
After lunch, Sherri and Gwen and I decide to play tourist a bit. Here is the Victorian House LINK if you want to check out this beautiful piece of history.
We also visited the building next door and here is the Millersburg Glass Museum LINK. This is just so cool. I would love to see this being made sometime, just not here because the factory is no longer operating.
20th - Departure Day. Those are always hard as good-bye's come with them. For today, it's pretty much just the three of us doing a little bucket listing. Here is the Days 9 and 10 LINK so that you can follow along as we were pretty dang busy.
Our first stop is in Cincinnati to visit Sherri's beloved hippo, Fiona. This required a post all by itself and here is the Zoo LINK. So many good pictures to see.
After dinner, a little sightseeing happened and here is the LINK to three of the stops.
21st - Today's journey is taking us to Paducah, KY and Hancock's of Paducah. This finishes out the trifecta for me. Marshall's, Missouri Star, Paducah. I'm good. We've met back up with Gwen and Frieda for the day.
Remember that quilt I mentioned Ramona posting about? Well, I got the fabric here and also some more for another vest.
Well, there was this, too. Ya gotta read the link to learn about it, but you will be shocked, for sure.
Sherri, Stephannie and I make a visit to Metropolis in the evening. Cheesy, but fun. A little wandering around Paducah as well and then back to the house to put our feet up this evening.
22nd - Good Morning. Here is your Days 11 and 12 LINK and then that's it for this trip. Today we are finishing up in Paducah with a morning walk along the river. Here is the Mural and History LINK to enjoy all that we found. I LOVED IT!
23rd - My view in the hotel lobby as we get breakfast. Just makes me smile.
After dumping my stuff, I know Mister has been alone for a bit - so, it's out we go.
24th - I had a few packages arrive while I was out of town. Two Valentine quilts from Shabby Fabrics. One is a kit and the other is a BOM. Add that to the list now.
Some gifts from the trip ---- how fun. The towel is from Sam (and Gwen?) and the turtle and thread are from Carla. Thank you so much.
25th - NOW - the world is crashing down on me and I have got to get my act together. I now have all three tea sets in the house and the newest greenware is drying.
26th - I REALLY need to get sewing and finish up the blocks that were not complete in Ohio. Out the parts come.
A few treats in todays mail - Sew Sampler box, which I am putting the project on the way back burner for now, but I LOVE the new block of the month so have ordered the Pressed Flowers kit. Woot woot.
27th - Several of my block of the months arrive later in each month and were awaiting my return. A few managed to make it to the done column today. Joy Filled - I "think" there is only one more month for this one.
28th - Progress happened on the Dear Jane blocks today. All I have left now is the applique ones to finish up. Phew. These were TRICKY!!
29th - With the weekend's arrival, we are off to play all day. Ya just never know what we'll find and today is no exception. Here is the Birthday Season Saturday LINK to peek in on all that we found and did. Some beautiful sculptures for all to enjoy. We did make a stop at McKinney Dry Goods and my hands did not leave empty. A few remnants for the civil war projects. Always good to have neutrals.
30th - The Birthday Season weekend continues with a beautiful visit to The Dallas Arboretum for Art Fest. Come along with this LINK and let the beauty of nature sooth your soul as it does ours.
My evening consisted of finishing up the applique on my Dear Jane blocks. They are finally TA-Done for May and not any too soon. I got the post up with mere hours to spare.
That brings us to May. This is MY month and I hope to make it a good one. Let's focus on such a simple method to increase the "Binding Us Together" theme. PHONE CALLS. Take the time to make those connections. They truly do lift the soul and keep us bound together.
Thank you for reading this far. If you made it here, kudos to you. Hope you have a great month and find a way to bring joy into your life. Stay creative Y'all.
I've tried to make a COMPLETE list here so that I have only one place to look it all up. I apologize in advance for the boring nature of this to y'all, but it helps me.
UFO's to quilt: these are staying on this list and I am so hoping to actually make progress this year with the quilting aspect.
BOM #1 - quilt and bind -
BOM #2 - quilt and bind -
BOM #3 - quilt and bind -
Winter Wonderland - quilt and bind -
BOM #2 - quilt and bind -
BOM #3 - quilt and bind -
Winter Wonderland - quilt and bind -
Witch's Night Out - quilt and bind -
Quarantine Challenge - quilt and bind -
Dawn's Early Light - quilt and bind -
Xing - quilt and bind -
Straits of Mackinac - quilt and bind
Ruby Slippers (a.k.a Emerald City) - quilt and bind DONE
Pfeffernusse - quilt and bind
Current Projects:
Sunny Patches BOM Mystery - current
Alphabet project from MSQC last summer -
Half Moon Rising project from MSQC last summer -
Skillbuilder -
Summer Moon -
Ruby Jubilee -
Long May She Wave -
Oh Happy Day -
Joy-Filled - current
Designer Mystery - didn't receive my block
Spooky Season BOM - current
Puzzler Quilt - Loaded and on frame ready to quilt
BB Civil War Sampler - current
Loyal Union Sampler - current
Dear Jane - current
Country Christmas BOM (2 per month) - didn't happen
Harry Potter BOM - 1 block finished, 1 waiting on embroidery
Anna's Baskets BOM - current
Sewcialites BOW - current
Bountiful BOM - current
Barn Star BOM - current
Make progress on tea sets - yes
Row by Rows -
Al Fresco - DONE
UFO Items to work on:
Neutral strings -
BAD blocks as leader/enders -
Whims 2nd quilt -
Rhododendron Trail -
Sandcastles -
Midnight Flight -
Daybreak -
Farm Girl - backing/binding made -
Round Robin (mine) -
UFO Handwork Items:
Hand Quilting --
Stocking - in Montana, will work on there
Wool Wall Hanging -
Links to Previous 2023 Monthly Posts -
Links to Previous 2023 Monthly Posts -
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