Priority One

 Done!

Happy to report the paraments for the church are finished and installed.  So my #1 priority for 2021 is done -- well, at least half of it -- and now I'm ready to move on.  

As promised, I am providing photographic documentation.  First the lectern ...

... next, the pulpit ...

I see I should have given this one a last-minute pressing ;-(  Maybe the wrinkles will hang out.

The other half of my priority is the white set and, wouldn't you know, next Sunday is white so I'd better get cracking!  Now that I have solved the design process of keeping them in place, they should be easy to do.  I will use a much simpler design, too! 

Another Gizmo Quiz

 And Getting My Sew-jo Back

Here's another gizmo in my sewing tools.  Can you guess what it is?

Here's a hint:  Unless you are a professional, you'll probably never need this!

While you're mulling over your answer, let me tell you about my Thursday.  In case you haven't noticed by the dearth of posts coming from the Hill lately, I seem to have lost my sew-jo.  It's actually due to procrastination.

You see, it's already near the end of May and I still have not completed my #1 goal for the year which was to finish at least one set of paraments for the church.  I couldn't in good conscience work on anything else when they are due to hang in the church this coming Sunday.  We're not talking about a major work, just a major engineering headache (which I will not bore you with) I think I have solved.  

But I needed to fill a bobbin with green thread so I played "bobbin chicken" by running a bunch of 4Ps and cutoff HSTs under the needle.  This plate was piled high when I started ...

... and in the end there was only this much bobbin thread left ...

I was able to finish the small piece that goes on the lectern and today I will finish the large one for the pulpit.  I'll take pictures when they are in place.

So what was your gizmo answer?  Did you guess it was this?

I have no recollection of where I got it or why I have it, but you see it is definitely quilt-related.  (I also have a loupe-like thread counter that belonged to my dad who worked in the textile fibers industry.)  Like I said, unless you are entering a quilt in a major show, close enough is good enough -- at least it is for me.

Flower Friday

I didn't get my photo to the Pennsylvania Piecemaker in time for Flower Friday, so I want to share my first peony bloom here.

I am happy to report that the fallen tree stumps have been removed, along with a couple of other small trees that were in the way of the stump grinder, and we are making plans for a new and revitalized secret garden.

The highlight of my week was the return to Devo and Sew on Tuesday.  We had a great turnout and it took nearly the full four hours to see all that we had accomplished.  Even in the midst of the pandemic, we were able to provide 35 quilts to comfort and encourage our neighbors.  Many of those went to tornado victims in a nearby county in 2020.

It was a special thrill to have Harriett travel in from Texas (actually it was a coincidence but we think it was a Godwink) and she showed her One-Block Wednesday quilt.

This was a weekly sew-along hosted by Temecula Quilt Company.  Jane lost interest and donated her blocks to Harriett which enabled her to complete a king-size quilt.  I love the way it sparkles.  Often times simplest is bestest.

Gadgets and Gizmos

 I received the perfect card from GS-1 and GDIL-1 (parents of GGD-1) for Mother's Day --

GDIL is a crafter, so naturally this card caught her eye.  Anyway, it got me thinking about the evolution of sewing gadgets over time.  I'm sure you all have had/used one of these ...

... but how many of you have ever used this (or even know what it is)?

Anyway, I wanted to share a gadget/gizmo that I recently acquired at Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN.

I have been trying to create a neater workspace next to my comfy chair in the family room and this little gadget has eliminated a pile of containers for this and that.  Some of my friends have a larger version that they keep next to their sewing machine, but I thought the compact version made more sense for my chairside equipment.

I'm not sure what the golf tee has to do with anything, but it fit in one of the slots!

Addendum

... to my last post 

In reality, of the 40-something projects I finished, only seven were started from scratch since February 2020.  And four of those were small quilts (around 36" square) and three of those began with panels.  

Although I alluded to "orphan blocks" and "leftover bits," sometimes that meant I stitched 3 blocks together and added batting and back for a table runner.

Apparently, as The Joyful Quilter pointed out, I was negligent in mentioning that we welcomed our first great-grandchild in early March -- a girl!  (saving pics for privacy)  We are hoping to meet her in person this summer, either here or in NYC.  Speaking of grands, our youngest (who shares the same initials as the new great) will be visiting prospective colleges this summer.  Time sure flies the older we get!

One More Week to Devo and Sew!

Soon after we moved to the Plateau I joined a group of ladies who get together to sew at a church in town.  We would sew, have lunch, and share a time of prayer and praise twice a month -- until the Covid lockdown.

Next week we will get together for the first time in over a year (with a few modifications to our routine).  Rather than sew that day, we are going to show and share what we have been working on during the time away.  So I did a quick inventory to see what I wanted to take to show.  Turns out my time of I-sew-lation was quite productive -- roughly 46 projects in 15 months.  A lot of what I have accomplished has used pieces and parts from the orphan bin.  Bear in mind that a top/flimsy, which most of mine are, qualifies as a finish in my world.

Three wall hangings - My favorite is Everlasting.  It started with a fat quarter and grew from there.  It is staying with me and will probably get some custom quilting.

Five wheelchair quilts - I realize I never posted about one of my favorites.  A couple of years ago I started a mystery quilt hosted by Kevin the Quilter.  I got bogged down early in the process but had quite a few units already made (the gold and white in the center) so rather than have them go to waste, I put this together.  I think it has a masculine look to it so I will back it with flannel for a wheelchair quilt.

Eleven baby quilts - Most of these will go to the local guild that supports a pregnancy crisis center.  My most recent is Ann of Green Gables.  I wrote about it here.

Sixteen throws - A lot of what I make is in the 50x60 range so I categorize them as throws.  My favorite is Twisted Ribbons, a Cindy Williams design.  It has beautiful custom quilting and, even though it is 50x50, it will grace a big blank wall in one of the guest bedrooms.

Five bed quilts - These fall in the 60x80 range, some would consider a throw.  My favorite is the RSC Tiny Tuesday sampler started in 2019 and carried over to 2020.  This one is going to our new great-grand-daughter.

Seven table runners/toppers - My latest obsession, again using up orphan blocks from other projects.  These I can easily quilt myself!  I've already given several away; my favorite that remains is made from off-size blocks left over from Weaver Fever.

I am currently finishing the binding on an oldie-but-goodie that will be the subject of another post later this week.

It's amazing what one can accomplish if they never leave the house!

Getting Back to Normal

After all the weather excitement earlier in the week, I welcomed the chance to get away for a few days with some of the S'mores at the Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN.  I made the 2-hour drive up Thursday afternoon, spent a couple of hours at the show on Friday, and came home this morning.  Most of my time, however, was spent kibitzing with the girls at the hotel ... and eating way more than I should have.

The show is put on by a couple of local guilds and the quality of quilts entered are usually quite good.  This year was no exception.  I found I was mostly attracted to stripes and samplers.   I took some photos for inspiration.

Linda Roy, a local quilt artist and frequent award winner at the big shows, used stripes in several ways in this winning entry.  Her handwork is always exquisite.

In Moody Blues, Lynda Wallace of Knoxville used a stripe in her triple sashing to take this simple design to the next level.  I like how the quilting accentuates the design.

Sue Jones, a local teacher in Maryville, TN, made this sampler on steroids.  She named it Golden.  The setting is so much more interesting than the standard sampler.

 Another sampler, this one an Edyta Sitar design, made by Kathryn Zimmerman of Mars Hill, SC, really grabbed me, as well.  I'm inspired to get out one of my many-block books and work my way through it.

I also snapped a pic of this star which would be easy to make.

Just curious -- do you find inspiration when you look at other people's quilts?  

This was my first foray into a crowd after Covid restrictions have been lessened and, to be honest, I was a little leery.  I wore a mask, but many didn't.  Which explains why I spent most of my time at the hotel within my circle of friends, all of whom have been vaccinated.  We'll see if there are any repercussions. 

Just a Quick Update

Following the Tuesday tornado (estimated by experts as EF0), our trees in the neighbor's yard looked like this.

Their tree service showed up early Thursday morning and the difference is amazing ...

Hardly any sawdust visible!  In the meantime, we wait for our tree guys to take care of the stumps in the next few days.

We are also going to have our guys take down that leaning tree to prevent future mishaps.  Then we will repair/replace the garden fence.  And, I am going to work hard to make my secret garden the showplace it should be (which will probably interfere with quilting time).

All-in-all, minor distractions from what could have been so much worse! 

No Longer a Secret

The Garden, that is ...

After rain and hail much of the night, the tornado siren went off about 7:30 a.m.  Since it wasn't the normal time for a "test," I checked my phone and, indeed, we were under a tornado warning so we headed to the basement to our "safe" southwest corner, which happens to be my sewing room 😃.  We had about 5 minutes of hurricane-force straight-line winds.  

Other than a few small limbs strewn around, the only other evidence (or so we thought) was the uniquely singular direction of all the daffodil foliage.

About 11 a.m. Mr. Lakeside happened to glance out the windows on the other (northeastern) side of the house. and this is what we saw.

That's a big root ball on the left; and another on the right.  Two huge oak trees fell and took out a good portion of the garden fence.  But, worse than that, the neighbor's gutter.

It could have been so much worse!  At least there will be fewer leaves to rake in the fall and fewer acorns for the squirrels to plant.