Two More HST Blocks

Almost all quilting and sewing has been on hold this past week. When I  wasn't picking produce from the garden or cooking I was shopping with my DIL(clothes) or Jack (chair) or dealing with vertigo.
I did have a nice relaxing time when we went out to lunch on Thursday with Jack's sister and her husband. so I am not feeling sorry for myself.

I still have this quilt up on the wall and it is 6 blocks by 6 blocks. I decided to make 6 more blocks for the bottom edge to complete the pattern. Idon't really care if the pattern is complete at the top as that part will be under the pillow which will have a cover to go with the quilt.
















These are the 2 blocks I started and finished today. Only the blue one is sewn together in this photo.

Lucy likes hanging out with her people and I guess it was my turn this morning.
She has to inspect everything and she had a good time hiding behind my small design board and attacking various pieces of fabric, scissors, seam rippers and other objects; she can make a toy out of anything. She will also eat tiny shreds of fabric, causing me to become more careful to clean up small shreds of fabric and string.

Before we went to the sewing room this morning she managed to sneak out the door and she wore herself out tearing around the yard like a streak  of lightning. I caught her when she plopped down to rest.

So here she is ready for a nap. About two minutes after I shot this photo she was out like a light and I was able to sew the block behind her without interference.

Progress

Today is Wednesday and this is the post  that I thought I published on Monday. Not sure what happened; nothng much has changed except I decided on the red border and cut the strips in readiness to sew them on at our quilting get together today. I was all prepared to go but woke up late not feeling good. I will probably leave it all  packed up and ready for next week.

Monday, August 14, 2016
I made the rest of the blocks for the little piece I am making with the block of the month project with my small group  of quilting friends.  I finally got 9 blocks finished and sewed together. Making 6 inch blocks from this pattern was a lot  more fussy than fun.

This is the EQ  version that I had planned. After I made the center block I didn't like it. I  played with the layout in EQ using different color placement and combinations.
















This is the fabric versions that I decided on. Most of my points are sharp but it wasn't easy and it isn't perfect, however it is acceptable. I will not be making anything again soon that is small and fussy.



















I am ready to add 3 inch borders when I decide which fabric I like. Initially, I planned on the green print (on the left) but I am leaning toward the red print (on the right). With 3 inch borders this will be 24 inches.  I like it well enough to keep but I really don't need another table topper or small wall hanging and that is a good size for a gift.

I will put this off until tomorrow when the quilting friends get together. I can get my backing ready and get some feed back before I cut and add the borders. If I get the rest of my stuff together for tomorrow, for once I can be ready to go before the last minute.

Not Much Sewing Going On

There has not been much sewing going on here in the last two weeks.

This 6 inch block is my rather pathetic accomplishment. The small group of ladies I have been sewing with is working on  block of the month.  I am not going to make the BOM quilt but will use some of the blocks for small projects. I bought some red and green fabric and a light background and will make some Christmas things.













These next photos show some components ready to sew. they have bee sitting like this for almost a week.












I am surprised that Lucy has not knocked them on the floor or played with them. When I sew on the machine I have to shut her out of the room. She is very interested in the moving parts and she gets right up on the sewing table to have a close look.








One of the things keeping me busy is the garden. my daughter and SIL planted vegetables this year and everything is growing well. The cucumbers and zucchini are ready to pick, more EVERY DAY. would you believe that we have more cucumbers than zucchini. Daughter and SIL  are  in Montana hiking for 2 weeks and I have been busy, busy, busy keeping up with the garden. Now the peppers and eggplants are becoming ready to pick.
The 24 tomato plants are huge and heavy with tomatoes, that are mostly green yet, but every day there are more and more that are red. The weeds have also been doing well and I did have some help with pulling them. Some of the weeds in the Butternut squash patch are taller than me and not easy to reach. We were ahead of them for a while but we missed a few that were hiding and the squash just keeps growing all over the place and there is no place for me to step. Because I have a balance problem due to Meniere's Syndrome I use a hiking pole for stability on the rough ground when I go out to the garden; I am not the most agile person getting into the squash patch.

For 3 days I worked to clean up the 12 foot diameter flower garden. It was overgrown with weeds. My daughter in law was here over the weekend and she was a big help doing that.  She dug up some yucca plants that keep coming back and we moved some large rocks that outline the flower garden. We moved them in toward the center 1 to  2 feet to shrink the garden circle. We left the crab grass that was growing there, outside the rocks and it got mowed last evening by another grandson in law. We have had grandchildren stopping almost every day for some  reason or another and our son and DIL were here for 4 days over the weekend. I have come to the conclusion that there was some arrangement to keep an eye on us. Probably a good idea but I am not sure I like it.


My agenda for today is making pickled beets and pickled cucumbers. Oh, and doing the laundry; working in the garden has me wearing 2 or three sets of clothes a day.

Maybe some sewing tomorrow.