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: November means the annual gathering is taking place and that brings such a warmth to my heart. It is amazing to get together with the same women (and new ones as well) for the past 10 November's. Crazy wonderful. For this month, I would heartily recommend attending a retreat and starting those incredible connections of your own. Retreats are such a special place, where we truly love one another and lift each other up. Go for it this month.
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 - A new month means new blocks for the Civil War sew-alongs. Here are the November blocks and links to join the groups if you wish. Barbara Brachman Sampler
The Loyal Union Sampler blocks for November.
Dear Jane blocks for November.
The APQ Challenge for this month is: Number 9- which for me is my BOM #2 and it is at Jen's house as I had to have all my quilts shipped there last month. It needs binding so I figure this one will get done this month. Binding and label are made and standing by.
We are still in Montana and it's been a busy day. I made a trip into town to run errands and managed to get in 10 stops in an hour. Yep, woman on a mission. First, I went to the lake to take a selfie in a hoodie, then stopped to have the oil changed in Mom's car, downtown to take another selfie in same hoodie, gas in the car, stop at drug store for my sister, up to liquor store for friends (honest), bank to put money in Mom's account for cleaning lady, post office to mail previously said hoodie to Wyoming, get mom's mail on the way home and one last stop to drop off purchase from drug store with my sister. I did it!!Now, you may be wondering about the hoodie. It's one of those IYKYK things - however, my personal blog has told all. I will say - changing from the hoodie to a sweater in the post office parking lot of a small town got a few looks. Hey - I had a tank on underneath. Never mind it was about 20 out. The last of our trip can be found in this End of Trip LINK. Dinner with family tonight and then . . .
2nd - Our time here is winding down --- I packed up all my sewing stuff two days ago and so now I'm hoping to do some ironing of applique parts on a row by row. Well, I got to punch them out, but . . . I needed a machine for something in the background before ironing. It figures. Back into the drawer.
This is how I feel today ---- cruise coming up. Spent the afternoon at a game and then home to relax.
3rd - Our last full day here and it's filled with laundry, changing bedding, packing, decorating for Christmas, and dinner out. Whew, a full day, but a productive one. Good-byes are said and we are outta here tomorrow morning. Back in January, I think.
4th - Up at 3 to get to town for a 5 a.m. flight. Things went pretty well until they didn't.
5th - Sometimes, after traveling, it's hard to get going the next day. We basically relaxed all morning and then went to OHB in the afternoon. It's about all we were up to.
6th - Normalcy has returned. I have mail to pick-up (yep, I got a tote again and there were several packages), grocery shopping to do, and a kitchen floor to clean. I just didn't get to it before we left. Once those are all done, I spot this and, well, yes.
7th - I am starting to gather items for retreat and going through the mail from yesterday.
November's Sampler Box is opened while I have a pot roast cooking.
Now - a few things need to be done. First up - I get the new FMV block started with these parts ironed on -- I'll do the applique tomorrow morning and add the remaining parts.
8th - Good Morning! I'm studio bound first thing and it only takes about 15 minutes to get these parts stitched down. Yay.
9th - The Medieval World/Renaissance retreat is officially underway. You can see ALL the shareable fun (If you are a member of Our Quilt World, many more pictures can be seen) with this LINK. I have managed to get a few things done today. October's Pressed Flowers block is done.
10th - Day two of retreat and I have a TA-DONE!! I mentioned this candy cane last month and today it was put together. Love it!
11th - Day 3 of retreat and I have the label, backing, and binding for Sunny Patches done. It is now ready to quilt.
12th - The first retreat weekend has come to an end and Tweeners have begun, (here is the LINK to share in the fun) so I am taking the opportunity to use up space and work on my BB top. Layout has commenced, but I will tell you that the blocks pictured in the layout are not necessarily the ones we made in the book. Odd, right?
I think I've got it. This is without sashings or cornerstones, but I can at least work the rows now.
13th - Day 5 for me and today I decided to ruin my wedding ring. That's right. I had super glue blow up all over my hand and ring and couldn't get it off the ring (Mister will be called into service for that) and my hand still has bits after 1/2 hour of scrubbing.
14th - Day 6 of retreat and our One Block Wonder class has begun. That doesn't stop fun from happening, though. Sherri threw a ball at me and I pocketed it without her seeing. She's now on the hunt. Soooo fun to watch. Meanwhile, I've pinned my panels together and am cutting strips.
Onto the triangles. Was a good day.
15th - Day 7 of retreat and we are in decorate mode. Everything has to be ready for tomorrow's Anniversary retreat.
Yep, climbing again.
Last night of Tweeners -- off to a new spot for wings.
BB is set --- now for borders.
16th - Day 8 of retreat and just let me say that the whole time, I've had issues with the toilet in my room. It makes soooo much noise. This morning I woke to this sign in my room. How apt. Mount Vesuvius might have worked too. Here is the LINK to our 10th Anniversary Retreat - The Roman Empire.
New door signs.
We are making mosaics today and I've done the first step, gluing my pieces in place.
Also, my BB is a TA-DA.
Label and binding get made and all that leaves is the backing before this can be "to be quilted". Making progress.
17th - Day 9 of retreat - we have grouted our tiles.
Jen, the hostess for our game, did a wonderful job.
Throughout the day, I've been working on my half-hexies for the OBW and they are DONE. That's as far as I can go without large design walls. It is what it is.
18th - Day 9 and I've bagged up my OBW and Lattice quilt to take home. They are both cut and ready to go.
LCR night --- my two cohorts in all of this. Love them so much.
19th - Day 10 and one last Brazos Out! So much love in my heart for these women. We are super excited for the future and all that it holds.
20th - There is really no rest for the weary this week. I am organizing stuff and starting the housecleaning for company followed by decorating and then more company stage. Mail call includes a Sew Sampler box, a MSQC box that has books and a door prize inside, and a second book that I'm hoping to read FAST. Jen and I have talked about going to the movie on Thanksgiving and that doesn't give me many days to read. Perhaps it's a pipe dream, but I'm gonna try.
21st - So - today is "kitchen day". I am making Chex Mix and prepping for Thursday so I decide to make a little timeline of what gets done. I keep track of each 15 minutes before a stir is required and it is shocking how much you can do in 15 minutes. I know I've said that before and done this before, but you really should give it a try.
22nd - The morning is spent in a crazy rush to finish up the house, cleaned and ready for company. Whatever I didn't get done, Mister will while I am away. The mail arrives and the candy cane charms for November's retreat are here. Yep, THIS November - the one that is over. THIS is why I'm trying to get more on top of things for this next year.
Now, I'm off to Vetro Glass for a class with Jen. Here is the LINK to see how it all played out. We also walked around Grapevine for a bit.
Final for the evening is meeting up for dinner at Cane Rosso. The whole family is here, including their foreign exchange student, Max.
23rd - Happy Thanksgiving! We have Jen's family for the day and are loving the time together. Here is the LINK to the whole day.
24th - We're beat. Mister took the day off and we just vegged and hung out at home together. I have to gear up for the next big push -- but, a few days off to just be together is nice.
25th - Out and about today. Here is a LINK to our fun and it shows a cool new treat that we found. Vector Small Business Saturday is up first.
I explain all about these in the link --- Texas Chimney Cakes but oh so much more.
We then went to Grapevine and picked up the glass ornaments. We also walked around and stopped in at Hop and Sting for a drink and to check out their Small Business Saturday booths. Again, walked away without any purchases.
26th - My sweetie does not feel very well today so we're having a quiet day. I did go outside and get a decent picture of my BB quilt so that I can do the monthly posts. Crazy how behind I am.
I also laid out the blocks for Loyal Union in order so that I can start setting it as well. That's quite the stack of blocks.
Gathering items for the ornament project at the party next weekend. It's a start at least.
He did bring the totes down in the evening for me - let the work begin.
27th - A few items get prepped today. All the sashings are cut for Dear Jane. This is December's assignment and I'm feeling good to be able to do another post.
28th - Got a start on the LU setting, about a third of the way through on webbing when sanity struck and I came to terms with this is as far as it will go this month. Epic fail, but it is what it is.
I finished up all the totes except tree and outside - what a mess in this house --- up late doing bookwork.
29th - Today is dining room and trees and I'm getting closer to being done. Tried to pay the license plates on my car today and nothing went well. I tried online - nothing would go through regarding the inspection. Then, I called Sewell Subaru to verify that everything was turned in correctly and they assured me it was. Forty-five minutes on the phone with the DMV (where they verified they could see the inspection and it must be a glitch) before being told to go to Kroger and all would work there. Argh.
30th - My little tree is done.
Baking cookies for the exchange happens today as well. All 10 dozen are baked, bagged, and boxed up to share. Another item off the list.
Went to Kroger to pay the license plates and Customer Service was closed (this was at 2 in the afternoon). Strike two. It's kind of eerie, foggy tonight. Mister tells me to peek outside. Love it.
We've reached December and just a month left of a wonderful year. Yes, it had some challenges, as all do, but overall, so many wonderful memories were made. Hold those close to you and draw on the strength of them as needed in the coming year. My memories are so very treasured and they truly to bind me to the ones they involve. Expand your circle and make memories as often as you can. Spend some additional time this month doing some actual quilt binding so that you can focus on those memories while you work. Hugs to all.
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. Lots of changes coming in January with this. Woohoo.
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 - Delivered to me, binding next step
BOM #2 - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step
BOM #3 - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step
Winter Wonderland - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step
BOM #2 - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step
BOM #3 - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step
Winter Wonderland - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step
Witch's Night Out - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step
Quarantine Challenge - quilt and bind - need to hand-stitch binding
Dawn's Early Light - quilt and bind - Delivered to me, binding next step, binding next step
Straits of Mackinac - quilt and bind - need to hand-stitch binding
Pfeffernusse - quilt and bind - need to hand-stitch binding
Farm Girl - Delivered to me, binding next step
Long May She Wave - quilt and bind
Current Projects:
Sunny Patches BOM Mystery - Ready to quilt
Designer Mystery - cut
Pressed Flowers BOM - October block made, November cut
Spooky Season BOM - Delivered to me, binding next step
BB Civil War Sampler - Set, binding/label made, needs a back
Loyal Union Sampler - Started setting - not enough
Dear Jane - current
Country Christmas BOM (2 per month) - blocks are current, ready to set
Harry Potter BOM - blocks made, need embroidery
Anna's Baskets BOM - ready to quilt, binding and label made (on next year's MSQC list)
Bountiful BOM - Delivered to me, binding next step
Barn Star BOM - one set of blocks done
Forever My Valentine BOM - some parts ironed on
FQS - Hallo-Ween Mystery QAL - Delivered to me, binding next step
MSQC Project #1 - Block Star - Delivered to me, binding next step
MSQC Project #3 - Periwinkle -
One Block Wonder - blocks made
Looking Through the Lattice - parts cut
Merrie Halloween - first block ironed on
UFO Items to work on:
Neutral strings -
Alphabet project from MSQC last summer - made the hst's, so some progress
Second Half Moon Rising project from MSQC last summer -
Snail Trail Quilt from MSQC last summer - set, backing, label, binding, quilt and bind
BAD blocks as leader/enders -
BAD blocks as leader/enders -
Whims 2nd quilt - quilt, assemble, bind
Summer Moon - set, quilt and bind label, backing, and binding done
Rhododendron Trail -
Sandcastles - set, backing, label, binding, quilt and bind
Midnight Flight -
Daybreak -
Round Robin (mine) - backing, label, binding, quilt and bind
Row by Rows -
Oh Happy Day - set, backing, label, binding, quilt and bind
Skillbuilder - set, backing, label, binding, quilt and bind
Joy-Filled - set, backing, label, binding, quilt and bind
Rachel's Sewing Room - quilt borders and attach all parts
Desert Sky -
Ruby Jubilee -
Feathered Star BOW -
Pat Sloan quilt -
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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