No Finish Yet, but Very Close to Two!

I just now realized it's been over a month since I posted anything.  Sorry about that, and I really didn't think I had a lot to tell you.   WARNING:  I have more to tell you than I realized; this will be long!

I had my 82nd birthday in February and received so many cards, phone calls, and visits from friends; it was just wonderful!  I even got a gift card from Hobby Lobby and even had a sweet note from a couple of blogger friends.   However, I think the best gift of all was from my guy friend quilter and his wife.  Because of weather and other things, we couldn't get  together for a couple of weeks.  His mother is a classmate of mine, and she said he was going to 'pop' if we couldn't get together.  When he finally took us all to dinner, and we came back to my house, I definitely realized why she thought he would 'pop'.

His wife is a quilter, and while he is just learning, he is doing exceptionally well for a beginner!  He and his wife bought a 12' long arm rig, and he's been practicing.    Well, when we got back to my house, he and his wife gave me my birthday gift: a beautiful throw!  Together they selected the fabrics, (with lots of pink roses which they knew I love), she pieced it, and HE quilted it on their new machine, his first quilt after a short time of practicing!   The backing is the smoothest fleece of some kind; don't know what it's called.   I asked him why they were giving it to me rather than his own mother or his wife, and he said he just wanted me to have his first quilt from their new machine.  Not only did he do a great job quilting it, he also stitched the label on his embroidery machine, and did a great job on that too!   Also she did the best job of hand-stitching on the binding I've ever seen.  I was thrilled, to say the least!  I'm going to show just a couple of pictures here, because I want to do a post of just that quilt later with lots of pictures.  (I just realized a few minutes ago that I had not taken pictures, can you believe?   Everyone else was taking pictures of it on the bed on top of other quilts, and I just couldn't get situated; thought I'd
 take them the next day, but obviously didn't!)

Enlarge it to see his quilting

Where they found that rose design, I don't know!

Look at those sweet little roses in the darker pink fabric.

Enough of that for now.

Indeed the firemen's quilt is finished except the label and the binding on that corner.  I am so pleased with it, and would have had it finished, but as you would know, the awards banquet has been postponed because of the corona virus that has everyone afraid to go out even on the porch!  I was planning to write the date of the banquet on my label, but since firemen are deeply involved with the sick people, no date can be set yet.  I hope it won't be too long until all the problems have gone away, as they keep telling us!  Anyway, I've decided just to put "2020 Awards Banquet" rather than the actual date, whenever that is.

I had shown you the center panel and the backing fabric, but I've made an addition to the center panel that I want you to see.   Sometime back I had seen the movie, "Only the Brave", about firemen, and right then I decided to make the firemen's quilt, and incorporate that title into my quilt.  I had thought I would hand-write it in the border around the panel, but wasn't brave enough to try it after I had sewn so many of those blocks around the man.   As I was telling my guy quilter friend (above), he said,
"I'll do it for you on my embroidery machine!"  I had no doubt he could, so I sent him home with red fabric and the words I wanted below the fireman.  Again, I was thrilled.

When my son came over and I told him about it, he looked at the picture and suggested I put the initials of our fire department in the "frame" above the fireman, using gold thread to match the emblem above the fireman.  Great idea, Son!  Again I was thrilled.  So I told "friend", and the next time he came back, he had both things stitched out beautifully!  Again I was thrilled!  I appliqued them into the "frame" around the fireman.  I am so very pleased with the results.   When I get it all finished, I will take a picture of the whole quilt on the sunroom floor.

With the delay of the awards banquet, I decided to make a little project for our church's auction to raise money for teenagers to go to church camp, like we do every year.  I had the printed panel, and dug in my stash for the rest.   I've got it pinned and partially marked, and I've stitched in a very pale blue under all the words.  I hope to get it finished this week, though I'm sure that auction will be postponed too, as well as church camp too probably.

I've had two weeks now with no drop-attacks, and no doctor's visits either, though I had a near-serious attack yesterday; barely made it to the couch!  All through January and February, if it was Tuesday or Thursday, my son was taking me to the doctor or physical therapy in the rain!  I'm still not feeling real steady all the time, but I'm up most of the time; haven't accomplished much, and my house is a mess!  Son took me shopping last Wednesday, almost all day, and I think I got all I'll need for at least a couple of weeks.  Maybe the hoarding will have let up by then I hope!  Friday I cooked a big pot of chicken and dumplings, and Saturday I cooked meatloaf.  I make them into little footballs, the size of one serving.  Then I wrap each one in foil and freeze them.  I put 10 in the freezer and kept 2 out for today and tomorrow.  At least I won't go hungry!   Today I made Oatmeal-Raisin cookies with an old recipe of my mother's.  I'll enjoy those a few days too.

I think I have enough fabric to last for the duration of this thing, but my Frixion pens both ran out of ink today!  I'll have to borrow one from a friend I guess to get me through.   (Son brought me three today!  Good boy!)

Wow, this is long!  Making up for lost time I guess!   Sorry all the pictures have been sorry.  With almost constant clouds or rain, I just can't ever get it right!

Hope all of you are staying safe, and enjoying your time quilting.

---"Love"