Dad's Quilt of Valor and More

I am really enjoying the Once Upon a Book Club boxes!  I read this one in a few days.  Normally I think Picoult is a bit to fluffy but this book had lots of info on Egypt, death dualas, etc.  I actually really enjoyed it and was not sure which couple to root for!

I am also really getting into solo gaming!  I have been playing Tiny Epic Zombies almost everyday.  I need to teach it to Kathy so we can play competitive or cooperatively, but so far I got my ten bucks out of this used game (which arrived with extra kickstarter stuff unbeknownst to me!) and it is my current favorite!

Last Wednesday Kathy had shoulder surgery.  I was her driver but could not hang at the hospital so I hung out with Hannah and Hazel!  So nice to have six hours with her and she was an angel the whole time.  Cannot get enough of this Gramala thing!  Kathy is doing well, I am more worn out than usual from helping her and being her left hand.  Oy!

I dug out my hand sewn hexies to go to the North Shore quilt guild's small socially distanced gathering a few weeks ago.  It was nice to meet five of the members in person.  I have been stitching on a few hexies here and there and am glad this thing is seeing some progress again!

My sister and I nominated our (step) Dad for a QOV almost a year ago.  The gals in Tucson finally were able to deliver (with masks of course) and he loves it!  He served many years in the Navy.

 My sister's ex roomie also got one the same day and he was pretty proud of it too!

Chunk Churn Dash, Easy Breezy and a Whole Lot of Other Stuff

I pulled out my leftover blocks to see what I could use to make a bunch of Christmas stockings for the step grands, honorary grands and grands.  I have lots of stockings in progress now but no pictures yet.

Found these churn dash blocks left over from I do not know what in my bins.  Could not find another project with this size churn dashes on my blog so no idea why I made them.  I need to make at least one more in order to complete a tiny top....or make more so I can have a baby size or something.  

I also made two more soft books and brought two (one is a duplicate) over to Hannah and Jeremy's house for Hazel.

We visited Hazel last Tuesday night and I held her for a long while.  I am going to see her tomorrow again.  Cannot get enough of this little face!

BJ and I have been doing a lot of sewing on camera.  I did the next clue for the Morewood Mystery and now have to wait for another month for the next clue!

Three of my four Chunky Churn Dash baby quilts are quilted (by me) and bound!  Pretty happy with how they turned out and the time quilting them went fast while chatting with quilting buddies online.  

We turned the heat on last Friday night...Wisconsin is in the 50's!  Arizona is still over 100.  CRAZY!  I made there Halloween bags from panels that Barb gave me.  Put them in a box with a bunch of other stuff and sent them off to the Ohio grands.

Speaking of cold...Kathy asked for handwarmers so I made us each a set.  We will be using them on the dog walks soon!

I also sewed up the Easy Breezy blocks until I ran out of friendship star blocks to go with them.  I will need to make more and then I can grow this one.
 As you can see I was all over the place in my sewing but I got a lot done!  I also made simple ornaments for the grands from the Scrabble tiles.  

Hazel Joelle has Arrived!

Hannah and Jeremy have announced the birth of Hazel Joelle!  Born last Wednesday on September 23rd (the date my mother picked since her bday is August 23) at 7 lbs. 12 oz and 19.5 inches long.  

We are calling me Gramala (nod to Kamala since my name is Angela) and Kathy is Bumpa.  We are in love with her already!

Did a little mystery sewing with BJ on Saturday.  All ready for the next clue next month.  Sunday I facebook chatted BJ, Andrea and Ruthie and cut and sewed three soft books for Hazel (and future grands).  I had never made these but someone gifted me five panels so I watched some youtube videos ahead of time and sewed them up.  (Today I have started on the other two--one of which is a double but might as well get them done!)

I am so over the moon that Hazel is a girl...I have dreamed of having a granddaughter that will remember me when I am gone as I do my Grandma Char.  She shaped me so much and I want a chance to do that with my grands.  As of now they hope to have another in about two years so with any luck I will have a few to get close to!

BJ finished up this top while we were sewing and then worked on her mystery blocks.  She is waiting on more of her neutral to finish the blocks.

 

Halloween Sewing

Just started another book that is a true story and interesting.  Really nice outside so I caught a few chapters out there.  Hope to get out there again today.  I have a Zoom workshop online in a bit so that will take up some of my day.  

Last year I made myself a Bonnie inspired table runner while she was sewing up pumpkins for her quilt.  She later came out with a cooler pattern so this year I made a HUGE one for my mom who has a huge table and one for my sister in law Ashley because she saw a picture of mine on my table and asked about it.  So much fun sewing up pumpkins. Quilted them myself and am really tired of tracing out pumpkins!

I decided I could not send a box and not send something for my sister so she is getting the other table topper.  So many fun Halloween fabrics in it.  It is Rock Candy by Jaybird Quilts.

 

Halloween Sewing and Reading

Finished reading David Copperfield and opened all my gifts.  I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would though sometimes I had to reread to figure out what the old language meant.  I also watched it on BBC and it was actually a good representation of the book.  Interested to see the new one that is in theaters now.  Also read the August book (finished last night) and opened the gifts.  Really an even more fun way to read than normal.  I am super excited for the next box and the fun Halloween boxes.  We are really trying to not spend much since I am not working much but I have to have these boxes for now!

This book was good--sort of a puzzle to figure out that kept me guessing.  Out big excursion on Saturday was to the public library.  Got cards and already hooked myself up with Overdrive for audiobooks! 

I finished the top for a pumpkin table runner for my mom and for my sister in law.  Here is a picture of mom's.  Ashley's is smaller.  Mom has a HUGE long table so this will be perfect for it.  I do not have Bonnie's actual pattern so I had to use the quilt direction and her picture and it is not exactly the same (and this one bigger and the other one smaller) but I like them all the same.  I made one for me last year but it has only five pumpkins in single file on it.  If you do want the pattern you can find it at Quiltville.

Last year Barb and I sewed up these cute little Ring of Coffin quilts.  This year we Skype sewed and made them into pillow covers.  Mine has the red center and hers has the black center.  SO CUTE!  If you want this pattern--it is paper piecing--you can find it here.

 

Books and Mysteries!

Still doing a lot of reading.  This was a really good and fast read!

 This one was 726 pages and was not as fast of a read!  I am really enjoying opening the gifts on these books as I go.  I finished this one yesterday and watched the BBC movie/series about it.  I am looking forward to the new movie about David Copperfield too.  I had never heard anything about this story and while long it was sort of like a soap opera of the day or something.  Originally published as a serial and at least partially autobiographical, I am glad I did not have to wait for the next installment each week!  

Here is the fabric I picked for the BJ mystery.  We worked on it on Labor day and got all caught up and are waiting for the next clue.  I went ahead and did half my centers in green and half in red because I wanted to use both colors.  Hopefully that will work out just fine!

My honorary grandson in Norway is enjoying the quilts I sent him!  Still waiting on Hannah to have her baby...she is due in four days but we all expect her to go late.  I predict October 1st.  I love the month October, so why not!

 Almost time for my new quilt guild Zoom meeting.  Something to look forward to besides working and sleeping.  

Endings and Beginnings!

Got some flowers for my fifteen year anniversary with Kathy.  Put them in a depression glass pitcher and have been enjoying them all week.

Finished City Sampler---almost six years to the day from when I did the first block (according to my Facebook memories!) and am super happy with how it came out.

I followed one of the book layouts even though my colors did not always match those in the book exactly.  Came out alright!

The past two years have had us doing lots more board games and recently I have discovered solo gaming and have been enjoying that.  There is a group for everything on Facebook!  Cleaned and reorganized my shelf this week.

The next Morewood Mystery clue came out and within a few hours I sewed my hst's and packed it up to wait for the clue next month.

Yesterday I quilted and bound my Garden Party tableunner.  Hung it up in my sewing room.  Super happy with this one!

Meanwhile BJ asked me to do a mystery with her so I picked out these fabrics and we got them cut last night.  We are sewing today!