I do not know where the days have gone. The pink quilt is finally finished, and boy was it a stinker to do. It was so thick and heavy that I was breaking needles constantly. I reckoned up that I used over two dozen, and I was trying to be careful. It looks pretty good though.

I have adjusted the settings as much as I can on my little camera and that is about the best I can get. I person it looks pretty good with the high contrast thread. I have spent a lot of time on it, and it is pretty big. The black thread tones down the pink somewhat so that it doesn't look quite so pink. I am enjoying having it done and if I do find anymore tops that I made that way I will not try to put so much quilting on them. For a description of how I did it go to May 22 I think.

 Aren't these lovely, I think iris' are the perfect flower. David took this picture and he doesn't change the settings on the camera, so they aren't always quite right for the circumstances. We have been enjoying all the flowers blooming along the streets this time of year. Ours are doing really well this year.
Monday we went to a place called Beaver Creek Nature Area where everyone went on a mile and a half hike. I couldn't go, of course, but I walked around the upper part and then sat and sewed in the shade. I miss the hikes we used to take, I don't know if I will ever be able to go again, but I can always hope, and meantime there are places that I can go to that I need to be grateful for. It was lovely and peaceful, and not too many bugs. A very enjoyable day

TA DA!!

I have drawers. The last of them. I now have a place for all the rulers and templates that have been poor relatives stuck everywhere there was a place. They now have homes, even a small place to put reference books an magazines. The table is now complete and David can go on to other projects. He is going to have to make a small adjustment to the shelf support because I can't swing it all the way closed but that won't take long or be difficult. I am truly pleased.

The pink quilt is coming along fine. I should be able to finish it this weekend. I managed to fold under a corner and quilt that to the center so there was some ripping out that had to be done. The quilt top is so uneven that I just assumed I was in a thicker spot and kept happily quilting away until it was time to change the bobbin. Blessedly it wasn't all that much.
I don't have a lot of other stuff going on. Tomorrow I will have some fun putting stuff into the new little drawers. I seem easy to please. David bought me a book on vintage sewing machines, but I notice he was doing a lot of the reading. Hmm, I wonder who the book was really for?

I am tired, but a good tired, the kind of accomplishing something. The

Asian wall hanging is all quilted and ready to be bound, which I will do tomorrow. I love the little bird.

After it is bound and washed ( little mishap with a coffee cup) I will bead him and make him bright and pretty.
I got a lot done on the pink quilt too, although I had a little too much help again.

 Notice her tail?

I am sure that was not by accident, since I was changing needles and trying to rethread. There was a particularly thick seam which I didn't see and steer around so I turned my needle into a corkscrew. Still, even with all the help, I did get quite a bit done. I feel more tired today than usual so I am going to indulge in a little nap. I don't usually in the afternoon, but it seems like an awful good idea today. After my nap I am going to finish clearing all the junk off the top of the loom, I will start putting on the warp really soon, it's been waiting long enough. All in all a very satisfactory Monday

I have finally got back to working on the Asian wall hanging. The borders are on and the outline quilting is done. I will finish the quilting tomorrow and then work on the beading I have planned in the evenings when we are watching TV. I am liking how it is turning out and the beading will add the sparkle that is missing. Other than that I haven't done much but quilting on the heart quilt. Yesterday I lost track of time and quilted until nearly four in the afternoon, usually I come down earlier and do some hand sewing or work on the decluttering that is always necessary around here.
I did sort out a couple more boxes of stuff for the Goodwill. I don't know where it all comes from.
The two tubs of quilt tops that were on the back porch are now condensed into one tub, I didn't realize how many I had gotten done. Ambrosina was glad she needed the tub and wants the back porch straightened up. I have to figure out what to do with the Handi Quilter frame that I am not going to use anymore. I did get a lot of use out of it, but now I prefer quilting sitting down at the machine.. Anybody want it?

The log cabin heart is basted and I got a good start on the quilting. It is so thick and heavy that I am having trouble with the thread fraying and I have broken 2 needles. I am pausing until I can get to Jo-Ann's and get some needles, hopefully this evening.

My helper was on hand.

I am quilting in black for a couple of reasons. 1. because it will show every fault and deviation so it will really make me step up my game and make some real improvements, and it will be easier to see and 2. because we have an awful lot of black thread in this house, so I may as well use it.
I made this top using flannel for a foundation; it seemed like a good idea at the time-i had so much of it. Then I machine embroidered every seam and every strip, that too seemed like a good idea at the time. The result is a very thick, very heavy top which will be nice and warm for bedding but is a stinker to work on. And yes it really is that pink. I sincerely hope this is the last of the ones that I did that way.
I managed to cut myself really good with the rotary cutter when I was trimming up the edges. It could only have been carelessness, there were no distractions so I can't blame it on any one but myself.
All in all a fairly satisfying day. Leon and Ambrosina are taking the kids to the drive-in tonight so we will have a quiet evening to look forward to. Not that a little noise ever hurts us anyway.

This morning I got the back to this quilt pieced.

Tomorrow I will baste it and then I can start quilting. This is the first time I have ever seen it in a picture or from a distance, and I can see where things could have been done better, so now I know. It's too late now, but next time I can make improvements. When I made this, at least ten years ago, I was in the middle of mental illness, and I am surprised that I made anything at all. Those days I mostly sat and played solitare on the computer. I am coping now, but I will never be "well". Mine is one that will always have to be managed, and I have a lot of family support, as well as others. At the time I also had thyroid cancer. When I consider how far I have come since those bad years, I did very well indeed. Keeping busy is a huge thing for me, it would be easy to sit and brood, always dangerous, and yet some days that's all I want to do so I try to be always busy, not too difficult with three growing grandsons always around.
For now though, I have made a start in cleaning the basement. My bedroom is mostly decluttered except for the stuff I am using all the time. I have sorted out two big boxes of stuff for Goodwill from the other part of the basement, I am trying to get my loom cleared up and ready to weave, since I have warp wound and ready to go on. I got a new Handwoven magazine today and feel a strong urge to weave, I haven't for several years. It's so easy to keep busy, I have so many things waiting for me to do them, things that I love doing!

The T quilt is finished and hanging on the rail of the front porch. Before bedtime I will bring it in to be laundered and then give it to Anthony.

Back and front. I tried adjusting the settings on my camera, but they still come out cloudy and a little blurred, I am not the best of photographers. My free motion quilting is improving, but I still have a long way to go, but I am not displeased. I used some bias binding left from a yellow quilt, and I still have a lot of binding left; I won't have to make any for several quilts yet. After I finished the quilt I did a little piecing on the inch and a quarter four patch blocks. I'll be on those for quite a while yet.
Tomorrow I piece that backing for another top and then start over again. This one is a log cabin that i did long and short blocks to make a heart shape. I pieced it close to ten years ago and it seems to me a pretty good one to make a start on the back log of quilt tops I have stored up in the attic. But, for now I am taking a break to have a cup of coffee and put my feet up for a while.

The T quilt is nearly done 2 more half rows of blocks and I think I can finish and bind it tomorrow. I like the feeling of well being I get when I finish something less than a year after I started it. From now on quilts are going to be quilted as I finish the tops, and I will catch up on the 30 odd I have stored away. My vision far exceeds my time, and when I get an idea I like to make the top and then quilt it when "I get the time". No more, start to finish that's my new motto.
David got some of the drawers installed in my new sewing table.

 A place for my embroidery unit and everything. It has been sort of a poor relative and stuck where ever I had the room. There are to be 3 drawers on the end, so I will finally have a place to store my rulers and templates that also float around where ever I can find a spot.
This is a picture of the table folded up with the quilt I am working on. It's amazing how much easier it is to work on than what I had, and so much less tiring.

My quilting has improved already and I am enjoying it more. David, the sweetie, seems really happy that I am enjoying it so much.

The white dress is done, except the hand sewing which I will do this afternoon. One less project taking up space and I think it turned out pretty well. It will be nice to have for this summer.
Three full rows are quilted on the T quilt, I think a couple more days of quilting will see it finished, and then the binding. I have some binding left over from other quilts that I will use, adding to the scrappy look of it. My hopping foot wasn't hopping, so it was catching on the seams making little jagged spots, so I changed it and the quilting is smoother. The quality of tools is really important to final results. I've heard the saying that it's a bad workman that blames his tools, but quality tools always makes a finer job, so I don't think that old saying is totally accurate.

I started sewing the hexagon blocks together, and this is where I am at:

It's not the way that I had originally planned to do it, but I like the way this is going and I am enjoying doing it, and I think that is what counts. I don't know if I will get much done on it today since I am going to do the handwork on the white dress.
David is making benches for the front porch, the top will open and put all the boys toys and sports equipment out of the way; with such a small yard organization is key.
All in all it has been a satisfactory sort of morning, I've even gotten a little cleaning and organizing done down here in the bedroom. I thought that when I didn't have small children of my own anymore that keeping things neat and tidy would be easy, boy was I wrong!

Ambrosina and Leon are looking at a house. Only 3 bedrooms, but the basement has room to finish for more. 2 and a half baths, wow! I know I am hoping too much. The house is huge, with an acre and a half yard. Room for play structures, gardens and bird baths. 2 and a half baths, wow! We do pretty well with only one bathroom for the 8 of us, but it isn't easy and the lines can get long.
Oh well, a person can only dream.
This is what we moved into the sewing corner upstairs this morning:

I've still got some straightening up and putting away to do, and the drawers aren't finished yet, but it works great, and I love it. David put the last coat of varnish on it last night, and we moved it in this morning. I think the quilting will go faster and be less tiring now that I have something supporting the quilt besides me. The work surface is lower than what I have had so my shoulders won't get so tired with keeping my arms up, and I can lean back in the chair and relax while I am working. There is room for my legs so I don't have to keep them in an awkward position to work the foot pedal of the machine. Just exactly what I needed, and wanted too. Perfect!

It has been a day of rainstorms alternating with beautiful sun. Typical spring weather I would say. I can live with it easily enough, I don't care for rain, but I do love the sun. I had my class today so I didn't get much sewing done, some quilting and the dress is now ready for it's sleeves, so I am not unhappy with it's progress. There is some hand sewing on it which I will do this evening.
The bleeding heart is in full bloom out in the driveway so beautiful, it amazes me how it comes back from nothing to being so full and lush.

Besides the pink we have some white also, but David took the pictures and he just doesn't see details like that. It's not very big since it was just planted last year and this is it's first year to bloom. I love looking at these beautiful things, but I am so glad I don't have to do the yard work!!!

I have been ill, so I haven't been posting the last few days. I am feeling better, but I am still in a lot of pain, which isn't going to go away for a while so what can't be cured must be indured.
I did get a pretty good start on my white dress, the bodice and the zipper are done. I've always felt when I was making a garment when the zipper is installed the bulk of the work is done. Not really so most of the time, and not this time easier. It is a lined dress, so it will take twice as long, but as I say a good start.
I got Juki back this morning, and I was so happy. She is running good now, and the problem was part of what was wrong with it last month, so it didn't cost anything, they just missed it. I got Anthony's quilt back pieced and basted and even started a little quilting on it, not a lot it was a busy morning and I had to tidy up my sewing corner before I could work. The new sewing table David is making me should help a little with the clutter.

This is the kind of help I was getting today. She unthreaded the sewing machine 4 times this morning, and I still got the back pieced. I have a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from what I got done today, since I was struggling against such odds. The block is an orphan block that I made and decided that I don't like machine satin stitch applique. My how things change. I got pretty good at it, but prefer other methods now.
Ambrosina got the garden in yesterday, it's earlier than she has been able to get it in, we are having a wonderful spring. She didn't have very many tomato plants that survived, from her little greenhouse on wheels that she uses for starts. Happy was helpful to that too, she ate all the leaves off, but we can pick them up from some of the greenhouses that are dotted around all the big box stores. Last year we lost a lot of stuff in the garden in a bad hail storm, let's hope it doesn't happen again. Tomorrow we are supposed to have storms. So far it's been a lovely spring.

We had some glorious weather this morning. I start feeling like I will finally get warm when I can soak up the sun on the porch. David and I walked a little in the Japanese Gardens at Terrace Park this morning. The cherries are in full bloom and gorgeous.

Not very well focused I'm afraid, the wind was blowing an my camera shutter speed isn't very fast.

When we came home I finished Arty's quilt, I am happy to say.
Back:

 and front:

 Some of the blocks are machine embroidered with a story about dinosaurs that Arty told me when he was little and that I designed the patterns for. We plan to take it to him tomorrow.
And I still have a lot of those red plaid flannel pieces to use up, and still have a lot of orphan blocks that need permanent homes, but I have a lot of quilts that need backs so it will get used.
I'm still not real good at taking pictures, and it was very sunny when I took those so the colors are washed out, but I am not displeased with how the quilt turned out.
I pulled a bin out of the cabinet, and actually got started on one of the dresses that I have cut out. Clothing construction doesn't take very long and I think this one will go pretty fast. From now on I only cut out one garment at a time, they do no one any good just sitting in a bin somewhere.
Ambrosina brought home berries from the store today, yummy yummy. I sneaked a raspberry and they just melt in the mouth. Berries for breakfast in the morning!

Yesterday Rosa had her surgery, I was wrong as to where the pacemaker was implanted. It was in the heart but there is a lead that goes up and wraps around the vegas (? I probably have that wrong) nerve. Her epilepsy does not respond to medication so something had to be done. She had a couple of seizures as she was coming out of the anesthetic, but was doing better when we left.
This morning I finished quilting Arty's quilt and got the binding sewn on 3 sides when it was time to quit, I was tired.

I used binding left over from another project, I have quite a bit of odds and ends left from other quilts and projects. Ambrosina tells me this was left from making piping when I recovered a couch. I don't remember doing it, but it would have been over twenty years ago so no surprise there. There was just enough left for Arty's quilt, and it was blue like most of the front of the quilt so it went pretty good; saved me making binding, not my favorite task. When I get it bound then I will start piecing the back for Anthony's quilt, also make one of the dresses I have cut out and empty one of the bins of sewing projects that I need to get done. Then I can put something else in it.
Still no word on Juki, I sure miss her. I picked up a vintage machine yesterday at a thrift shop, but I haven't done anything with her yet. Hope to get to that this afternoon. I'll be working on straightening up the basement a little though and I want to get the loom cleared off so I can start dressing it now that the weather is warming up a little, although still cold down here. Since I have so much to get to today I guess that I had better get busy.

Payday today. I went to Hancock's. They still have a lot of stuff, but the prices aren't all that low, one can do better shopping the sales elsewhere. When they had sales we could did better. I did get the fabrics to finish the Asian wall hanging.

The red is going to be a teensy weensy inner border and the black and gold the wider outer border and back. I won't start quilting it until either I get Juki back or finish Arty's quilt, whichever comes first. I know the flowers look a bit dull, but I intend to bead them once I finish the quilting.
Rosa has her surgery at 7 tomorrow and she will be in the hospital overnight so I will go over there after I get up and have my coffee. I will take my handwork and sit with her for a while, it's not that I can really do anything, but it always helps to have someone there. I should know.
I took the quilting frame down today and put it all in the tub. David has to take the table apart and the back porch will look a lot nicer, Ambrosina is going to put some chairs out there and we will be able to take our morning coffee out there in the sun, it will be nice. We used to do that a long time ago, but the porch needed repairs. Now that they have been done it will be enjoyable, I look forward to it.

I missed yesterday, I am not sure what happened, but I wasn't feeling very well. Anyway today I got started bright and early, and despite drinking my coffee on the front porch got quite a bit done. This is what I was working on this morning:

You can't see what it is very well yet but I only started it yesterday morning, and it is a new technique for me. It is a rising moon through a stand of bamboo. The pattern is clip art that was originally intended for stained glass, but I thought it would work for this. If I like doing it I will design my own pattern next time.
I also got Arty's quilt basted and ready to quilt this morning. It was in another tub of tops in the attic, making it 3 tubs of tops that I had up there instead of 2. From now on I quilt each top as it is finished and I will catch up on quilting the others between times.

It is machine embroidered and strip pieced, and not as big as the last couple that I quilted so I should get it done a little faster. He likes blue.
We had pouring down rain and cold wind for almost a week, and then in one day it got warm enough to drink our morning coffee on the porch. I got started on cleaning up my junk on the back porch so we can use it again. I am hoping that it will be warm enough down here to go through some of the things that I have decided to get rid of to make more room so I can weave. But for now I need to try to get a couple of things done in here. The day isn't getting any younger!