Becky’s Adventures in Quilting and Travel

 I haven't been doing the best with my Sunday short list.  School has been crazy this year and even on the weekends it's hard to find the time for my hobbies.  I know in time either things will improve or I'll get more used to them and find ways to fit my sewing in other than on the weekends. In the meantime, I'm going to switch to monthly goals because its less depressing to see everything I didn't accomplish once a month than weekly.  So how did I do on the last Sunday short list? 1. continue to work on hand quilting my present-it's finished but not gifted 2. begin quilting the baby quilt-I have two baby quilts-I started quilting one but not the other 3. post about the two birthday presents-I did manage this one!   I also started a new project that is fairly simple-I'm revisiting the traffic jam quilt as the directions call for and using 2.5 inch squares from the Reel Time line from a few years ago (traffic jam in reel time)  In November I have a surgery ...

 Most years I try to give as many homemade gifts as possible.  I love when I know someone spent their time making something special for me because as a crafter I know that's much easier than ordering on Amazon (although I also love when people give me gift cards to shop at the local quilt shop guilt free!) Some years I can do a lot of hand made gifts (one year both my mom and my mother-in-law got hand quilted throws) but this year isn't shaping up to be one of those years.   When I signed up for this blog hop I had grand intentions of making a whole list of homemade gifts-right now I have maybe two small gifts finished.  I did get a few prototypes done with items I made myself (after all I don't want to show the actual gifts yet) First I wanted to make some soup bowl cozies.  I don't know why but these things have intimidated me for years but at the same time I'd see them at craft shows and talk myself out of buying them because I should be able to make them. ...

Long before I met him, my husband was in high school with two of my cousins. One of them actually shares his birthday so it's become a bit of a joke that I never forget her birthday anymore.  Earlier this year I knew I'd have her memory quilt from our grandpa's shirts finished in time for their 50th birthday and I knew if she was getting a quilt and he didn't I'd never hear the end of it (granted she's never gotten a quilt before and he'd already gotten 3). I have wanted to make him a memory quilt of his Dad's shirts as well so I made their birthday my deadline.  Most year's sewing a semi-secret project for him wouldn't be a challenge at all due to my summer vacation.  However with Covid, he's always home!  I hid in my sewing room to prepare the pieces and sewed non-stop when he took him mom for a procedure but I still had to bind it and couldn't finish that step until days before their birthday when he went camping with the "manly m...

This week was the first I've felt like I had time to sit at my sewing machine and relax.  I have been doing some hand quilting in the evenings while my husband and I watch tv because I know it's important to spend time with him even with the stress of this school year (or maybe even more so) and I can do hand quilting in the living room.  I even made a quilt top that wasn't on my list! So how did I do with the actual list???   1. continue to work on hand quilting a present-I finished the length rows and started on the widths and they are going much more quickly! 2. post about the two birthday presents I gave this week-which means my husband needs to give me some ideas where to photograph one of them.-We're still trying to decide where to photography my husband's present 3. baste a baby quilt before the baby arrives-I have the quilt clamped to the table but I need to finish pinning.   Our anniversary is this week and we have plans to return to our wedding lo...

I forgot to post my Sunday Short list last week.  My husband had been away and got home Sunday, we had to clean out the garage at our old house before closing Monday, and then we were relaxing and it just slipped my mind.  I still haven't had much time for my projects but I did accomplish some things, and gave away two quilts this week!  So how did I do with my list from two weeks ago 1. Continue working on hand quilting a present-I'm making some progress I'll soon be ready to start stitching the other direction.  2. Post about camp from Labor Day -done 3. Work on some Christmas presents-I have decided that I'll finish the ones I have started but it's just not feasible to have a handmade Christmas.  I'll support local businesses instead 4. Post in the Hello Fall Blog Hop-done and the responses were overwhelming.  So what's on the list for this week?  It’s still been a real struggle to have time for my projects so it’s really short.  1. continue to...

 My parents picked Little Pine for our Labor Day camping trip and invited family friends along.  We used to camp together at least once a year, but it’s been a few years since all three family schedules have made a larger group trip possible.  Even this year, the daughter wasn’t able to join us because she was busy with last minute wedding tasks.  We booked sites next to each other in the hopes that we could park facing each other. While that didn’t work our site was plenty big enough for us to gather together on one.   One of the activities we have always enjoyed on our camping trips is kayaking.  This trip the lake was far lower than my parents have been there before.  I wasn’t able to kayak as long due to my wrist but it was nice while it lasted and we were able to see an eagle soaring overhead.   Sunday we took a walk on the Pine Creek Rail Trail.  I suggested it thinking we’d go about two miles total we ended up walking around five. ...

 When this hop was announced I knew just what I wanted to work on.  I’m the Vice President of my quilt group and pick a block each month for members to make for our disaster victim quilts.  Last fall I’d picked a leaf block and hadn’t gotten them out together so I figured it was an ideal fall project.  I didn’t have enough leafs so I combined them with Mr. Roosevelt’s necktie blocks.  Once the top is done another lady usually ties and binds them.    Then I think I got a case of quilters ADD and started several more fall projects.  I’ve wanted to make a quilt with veteran outline for Veterans and Memorial Days for a couple years, I have the saluting soldier outline picked and the background, I just need to get them put together.   Then I decided I needed to use a Halloween charm collection I had from Connecting Threads a couple years ago.   When I was looking for those charm blocks I came across a few remaining pieces from a table ru...