What a Variety of Events for Two Weeks!

Monday of  week before last was the first day in about 100 days we were under 100 degrees, and I just couldn't stand it!  I worked in my yard four days that week and met with the church quilters on Thursday.  I got all my front shrubs pruned and flower beds cleaned, and got a lot done in the back yard too.  I was reminded of muscles I had forgotten about!  Then the heat was back a few days last week, and I decided more yard work could wait a while longer.  Besides, my hands and arms were so bruised and scratched that I looked like I had lost a bad cat fight!  I blame it all on Plavix!  Anyway, I had other things to do last week.

Let's go back to the church quilting day week before last.  It has been decided that our little church quilting group (about seven regulars, and occasional others) will make 75 bed runner quilts for nursing home residents and shut-ins, for Christmas. (That means about 10 each!)   Someone donated several big boxes of scraps (and I do mean scraps!) for us to use.  We piled them all out on the tables, and each one of us dug out pieces we thought we could put together to make the little quilts.  Of course, we will have to come up with backings, and the church funded a big roll of batting for us.  Everyone knows I've never been much of a scrap quilter, but we were also told to use these as learning projects for anything we want to learn to do, starting with quilt-as-you-go, and free-motion quilting!  So.....I'm learning a lot!  Of course, all these scraps had been in storage for no telling how long, and they have to be washed.  What fun, with all those odd shapes and sizes, and ravels!  *frown* I'm just washing them as I use them,  rather than all at once.  Here's the first pile I brought home!  There's been more since!

I sorted them out by colors, and now the sunroom table, cabinet, and chair backs are covered!  A total mess!  We were instructed to make them at least 39" wide, (twin bed width), but you know me!  I want them wider so they will hang down a little on the bedsides.  They are to be about 1 yard high on the bed.  I'm sure mine will all be in the 48 x 50" range, but who knows?  I just started out as usual, with very little planning.  I'll probably get better by the time I determine what I'm trying to do!  *wink*  I decided on three to begin on, and here's the progress and/or plan.  As you can see, none of the three are finished, but No. 1 lacks only about half the binding being whipped down.
Here's No. 1:  (I probably won't do much little piecing like those two rows in the others.)  I stitched around all the red circles, and the quilting on the back looks pretty good to me.  Maybe I'll show the backside when I finish the binding. I hope to try some free motion quilting in the red borders --- if I have time to get all mine pieced!

  Here's No. 2.  This is the first time I've tried Attic Windows.  I found a fat quarter of the deer and the darker brown at Hobby Lobby last week.  The striped border and green came from my stash.   I've had more fun with this one!  I hope some old man who loved to hunt deer gets it!  It will be bordered all around with 'brick road' borders like the first rows; it currently is 37" wide.  I hope to quilt tomorrow what's shown in this picture, before I add more borders with quilt-as-you go. (I should have hung it to take the picture; it really is square and straight!)

I woke up Saturday morning, seeing No. 3, with the fabric still in the pile!  I couldn't stand to wait, so I washed it, took a picture of what I had to work with, and then cut the main part, and laid it out and took another picture.  Incidentally, these are some of the largest scraps I got of any kind!  I had the black dot and green fabric in my stash.  I think both will be perfect!  The flower blocks are 6"x8".  Hopefully I'll get them framed Monday.

So you see now what I was doing this past week!  But quilting is not all I did!

You may recall that GS#1 finally passed his Math TAKS test, and his high school graduation ceremony was last Tuesday night, and he got that high school diploma!  He had enough class credits to graduate, but  without passing that test, he couldn't get his diploma!   Made this granny proud that he and some others didn't give up!  Wednesday morning I went to the funeral of a friend's husband.  I quilted at church again on Thursday, and I almost forgot, I made two doctor appointments on Monday.  Then on Saturday Son#1 (father of GS#1 and 3) got married again.  He's been single a long time, and has raised the boys mostly by himself since they were very small, and it has not always been easy.  Well, I've helped a lot, but hopefully life will be better for all of them now. 

So you see, I've done a little of everything the past two weeks.  I really hope this coming week slows down, but already two days are booked solid!  I so want to finish those three little quilts by Thursday, when I go back to the church quilting.  I already have two others planning in my mind!  No wonder I'm going crazy!

One more thing, for which I'm very thankful!  My yard got 1.9" rain last week, and more may be coming.  At least it is cooler!  Some day, I'm going to have to work in the yard again; the bermuda grass in the back yard is coming back to life, and will have to be mowed --- first time in at least two months!

I'm not sure I like the way Blogger is handling our pictures now, but I guess I'll get accustomed to it.   

Hope all of you have a great week!  I'm going to be busy, busy!

---"Love"