Pieceful Monday

Hey! Thanks for stopping by! Why don’t you grab a cup of coffee or tea and let me tell you about my weekend. It was a good one; some time spent with friends, some sewing, some relaxing.

I had been looking forward to Friday for a few weeks. Two of my favorite people were coming to stitch some X blocks for The 70273 Project with me.  Ruth and her daughter, Emma, arrived around 10 am and we went right to work. Emma wanted to learn to do some stitching as well as commemorate some history, so these blocks were just the thing. She picked up the sewing so quickly, even making the quilter’s knot was easy peasy for her.

Her mom, Ruth, picked up the sewing quickly and made some too.

They made the trek all the way here (about an hour drive), so I wanted to give them a little something. And I was looking for an excuse to make two more zipper pouches. I made a little one this time for Ruth. I really think I need a little one. Perfect for a mini makeup bag for a purse!

It was a fun day, with sewing, chatting, a little lunch in Northfield and a teensy bit of shopping, and more sewing! Emma made four blocks, I made three, and Ruth two. We are hoping to do it again soon!

Saturday I spent most of the day in my quilt cave, working on the first block for the commissioned quilt. No pictures to show until the quilt is finished, but the blocks are really fun. Those little pieces and all that sewing on the bias made the first block a slow one. Now that I have the process down, I think it will be a little quicker on the next blocks. I have 30 of them to make in all.

I also needed to get Block 6 of the 182 Days of Winter Solstice Challenge done. Honestly, I had no idea what fabric to use with this block named Crosswalk. It had me stumped. I had two lovely pieces of fabric that I had received from Bernie of Needle and Foot when I participated in her Book Share last year. A few of us read The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian, and when we sent the book off to the next reader, we tucked in some fat quarters that made us think of something in the book. Bernie sent me the blue and the green patterned fabrics. And suddenly, an idea for Block 6 came to mind.

This block makes me think of walking board walks in nature sanctuaries that are surrounded by water. The figured green fabric makes me think of water with lily pads, the solid greens make me think of the lush greenery in the nature preserve and the blue, of course, is the water surrounding it all. It is probably my favorite block now of the challenge.

However, my blocks 1-6 are definitely an eclectic mix. My tendency toward having all things match is a little at war with this gathering. I keep thinking I should remake some of the blocks so they all go together, but I won’t. It’s good for me to have to stretch a bit.

A couple of years ago, my two kids gave me a petite orchid for Mother’s Day. It is finally blooming once again. This poor little plant has had some rough going in my care, so I didn’t know if it would survive. I gave it some TLC and it has rewarded me with 5 little buds, one has opened to a pretty little bloom.

Yesterday I nicked my thumb with a knife while making lunch. I was rushing because I was hangry. My daughter suggested I not be allowed around knives any longer (my third cut, not nearly as terrible as the first). At any rate, I decided not to quilt yesterday and wait until there was enough healing so that no blood would stain the fabric. Aren’t you glad I shared that with you?

So yesterday, Max and I did alot of this.

So today I am ready to get going on those quilt blocks!

Happy Monday, everyone! Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment, I’d love to talk with you!

Linking up today with Cooking Up Quilts and Em’s Scrapbag.

Wendy