To-Do Tuesday

 Last week's list:

1. Be productive for 7 whole days in a row with no children. I ended up resting and watched  The Crown on Netflix because the remote was not lost or being used or being fought over. 
2. Two more lessons on Healing Power. nope
3. Find a new internet provider. yup will be installed tomorrow
4. Continue clearing inbox. a work in progress
5. Hand applique because I love doing it again. yes
6. Write one page for SMOWJ. nope
7. Write another page. nada
8. Make jam. the day is not over yet
9. Make corn relish. done
10. Stop reading blogs for at least 3 days. the problem with not reading blogs every day is I missed the Friday Night with Friends last week. 

This week's list:

1. Complete this 3030 block for my OMG goal for August. 
2. Turkey dinner on Sat. I will have help.
3. Complete one Ella Block. Any block. 
4. Write up a blog post for OMG. 
5. Get my teeth cleaned.
6. Two more lessons for the small group I lead at church. It is the first in-person group since lockdown in March. We are live streaming from one room of in-person people to another room where the on-line people are zooming in. It is interesting. We have an amazing techie just graduated from college with all the qualifications to set up a mini tv studio. 
7. Participate in a virtual writing retreat Fri. I can only join in for one day since Sat we are having a family Christmas dinner and farewell party for my sister who is going home next week. 
8. Write up a blog post about her finished quilt. 

That's enough for this week. I don't think I will do this every week, but it has been interesting. 

Blessings,

Chris

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To Do Tuesday

I hadn't posted a to-do list for a long time until last week. This is how I did:

1. Listen to the rest of the 8 lectures for my current course and do the test. done
2. Hand applique while listening. done
3. Change the throat plate on the Bernina so we can do some zig-zag stitching. done
4. Bring the step stool in from the trampoline so I can put Serendipity on the design wall. done
5. Take the step stool back out to the trampoline. oops
6. Clear out my inbox. A work in progress since I have about 1500 unopened emails
7. Pre-wash more background fabric for the 3030 Quilt center. done
8. Draw the design onto the BACK of the 27-inch center medallion for back basting. drew it on the front instead since I have decided to do this by machine applique and fusible
9. Begin to prep a few of the applique shapes.  turns out I have to trace the shapes backwards in order to get the design on the top frontwards. I can do this
10. Make jam. 
11. Make relish. my son made some green tomato relish but still want to make corn relish
12. Finish this Ella block. done  
    

This week's list:

1. Be productive for 7 whole days in a row with no children. 
2. Two more lessons on Healing Power.
3. Find a new internet provider.
4. Continue clearing inbox.
5. Hand applique because I love doing it again. 
6. Write one page for SMOWJ. 
7. Write another page. 
8. Make jam.
9. Make corn relish.
10. Stop reading blogs for at least 3 days. 

The girls are learning to whistle. I heard Jingle Bells tweeting out in the kitchen as the 8-year old was drying supper dishes the other night. The 7-year-old has finally figured out how to get that first tweet out and that is all we hear from her right now. All. The. Time. I love it! 

Blessings,

Chris

Found the Needle

Now how did I miss that? This box of notes and journals for my book SMOWJ was sitting on the floor to the left of my chair on the floor in the quilt room. I found it when I finally started sorting all my notes to begin the 30 Day Writing Challenge from my writing coach.

Not so funny story. Saturday afternoon, eleven year old Ava was sitting at my computer working on homework and I hear her sister calling for help. The desk had collapsed onto the chair pinning the girl in the office chair. She was not hurt but plenty scared. It took two men to lift the desk off her and put both desk legs back in place securely. Now how did that happen? So I have moved all my writing up to a table in my bedroom.

Now the funny story. Six year old Devan helped carry books upstairs. When I was settling in she asks if she could get two birthday cards done at my table. In my room. I looked at her, hesitated, then smiled and said yes. On one condition. You are to be absolutely quiet. She says she can do that. She only asked how to spell words five times. There were seven words in her cards. After she left, seven year old Elly comes and asks if she could join me and help me. I hesitated, then smiled and said, yes. On one condition. That you be absolutely quiet. She said she could do that. I gave her a picture to colour and even had some pencil crayons in the desk beside my bed. She chattered about her colouring then started sharing things from her thoughts and her heart and her feelings. Sigh.

After she left, Ava came in and asked if she could sleep with me since her bed was not made up because we washed her sheets and blankets earlier that day. I looked at her, hesitated, then smiled and said yes. On one condition. You are to be absolutely quiet. She says she can do that. She climbed into my bed with her three pillows, head phones, notebook and pen and started asking me questions. Quietly. And what was I doing all this time, upstairs, in my bedroom? On a Saturday night after supper at the nice big table with all my notes and journals and calendar and high lighters and a lamp? I was looking for a quiet place away from other humans so I could focus on my writing. It was Day 1 of the 30 Writing Challenge. You know, the one where I wanted to write at least a thousand words a day?

I realized all three girls had given me a gift that night. Family is important and they all wanted to be near me. Alone. Talking. So, the thousand words I ended up writing were here, on three blog posts, in my journal and my weekly to-do list. On Monday.

Blessings,
Chris

Writing

I have been writing. Yes writing, Not just thinking about writing or talking about writing. Writing. Yes I wrote blog posts and to-do lists. But I also hand wrote many pages for my book SMOWJ for short. I have decided to take this month of June and do some more serious writing. Every day. Aiming for 1000 words a day. But will be happy with 100 as long as I write something every day.

Up until now, I have just been writing whatever came to mind as I reflected on this journey of life God has taken me on over the past 66 years. I have finally come up with an idea for compiling chapters and will be writing chapters now instead of words. I have more than 9000 words typed out so far and another 10 hand written pages sitting here.

My sister will be arriving from China end of the month and the little girls will be home for the summer holidays for weeks at a time so I will be writing in June. Then I can put it aside to marinate for a couple of months before considering a professional content edit.

Now to turn all this into a best seller.

 
But first I need prayer. Email me at grammakiss (at) gmail (dot) com if you would like to be part of my prayer support team. Thanks.
Blessings,
Chris

OMG May 2019

A year ago I was challenged to set a 90 Day One Big Thing goal. My first one was to survive baby sitting the little boy grand children 4 days a week. They are both potty trained now so no more diapers. I set goals all the time and do not always meet them. I have come to realize that my goal setting is more dreaming than actual planning. But I do get lots done. Just not the things on my list.
I have little girl grand children living here at the Farm half time since last September. I like it. I get to see them a lot. Because they are all school age, I do not have to hover over them all the time. Just be near by. After all, their Dad lives here too and they are his kids. He does pretty good. He packs their lunches, gets them on the bus on time and does their laundry. He also makes their breakfast and supper the nights they are here. I cannot complain. I do the dishes. My choice. And, I have a cleaning lady. I love her.

But I have a degree to complete. And a book to write. I have progressed on both this past month. Now to keep on keeping on. My OMG is quilting related most months. My 90 Day One Big Thing is not. Last fall my big thing was to complete the Dear Daughter Quilt. And I did. This spring the Big Thing has been to write my book.Surviving Menopause: One Woman's Journey. SMOWJ for short.
I have 8500 words written. I am aiming for 40,000. So one fifth of the way there. My 90 Days is up on May 22. Then I will reevaluate and set a new 90 Day One Big Thing goal. It will not be quilting related.

So what will my May one-monthly-goal be? I started to put away some of the stuff left over from a quilt finish and found lots to distract me. Shiny New Object Syndrome they call it. But I must keep writing. And not so much about quilting. And I must keep reading. Still, not so much about quilting. I had a blast at the retreat and said it was my one last quilting hurrah until I finished the writing. But I have been home for 2 weeks now and I really like the hand applique. I had done almost none of it in the past 4 months until I was completing the BTCT blocks. How I love that quilt. Completing it is not on any of my ufo lists for this year. I stitched while listening to lectures on line the past few days. I guess that is my answer. Prep all the little bits for the next BTCT block so I can stitch to my hearts content this month.

This is what it looks like so far. I dare not press out those wrinkles because the pattern is drawn on the back with a Frixion pen and it would disappear. I do this so I can back baste. That background is a Kona Snow.

The goal is not to complete the stitching, but that would be nice and could happen. Just prep all the applique bits. The fabric box is still sitting on the table here so I better get busy.

Blessings,

Chris

Completed OMG April 2019

I had 4 goals for my one-monthly-goal.

1.

I completed 2 Beyond the Cherry Trees blocks. 

These blocks were mostly needle-turned hand appliqued a long time ago

but now they are both complete. 

This flower had to wait until the end before it could go on since there are  many layers of stems and leaves and buds and it had to cover all of them at the same time. I re did some of the stems because they were too short to fit. First I appliqued on the red flower

Then I appliqued on the cream center. I stitched around the outside 

then did a reverse applique to expose the red center.

This next step was a bit tricky. 

I did a wavy cut in the middle of the cream

so I could do some more reverse applique.I have discovered the trick to a tiny seam allowance is to 

clip a very tiny cut into the concave curve. I used to cut them too deep and had trouble turning it smoothly. Practice.  

Okay. I admit. Those curves are not that great, but have you ever seen a perfect flower?
I have to remember that this is a reproduction of a red and green quilt from the 1850's
and there are a lot of wonky, ripply and less than perfect flowers and stems
that are amazing and I love every one of them.  

Another BTCT block. 

Again, practice and I got those green circles pretty smooth. 

I still have about 200 cherries to stitch onto the borders. 

2.

Six Morrell blocks finally got machine appliqued down. 

There will be lots more of these in the future. 

3.

The Almost Amish Double Irish Chain will finish at just over 100 inches square. 

Good thing I decided to not add the extra 2 rows of blocks.

It will go back into the quilt cupboard to be quilted some other time. 

4.

Also, I added 3200 words to SMOWJ, which should be at least the equivalent of 2 chapters.

and I have been reading and watching on-line lectures for one of my courses. 

So a very productive month. I have been trying to get to the local pool 2-3 times a week 

for waterfit. I managed to go 4 times a week back in March after all the little 

kidos stopped being sick and the snow went away.

Now to decide what my OMG will be for May. 

It will be small and simple. I hope. 

Blessings,

Chris

April 2019 OMG

My April one-monthly-goal will be

• to complete the Almost Amish Irish Chain to a flimsy
• to complete 2 BTCT hand applique blocks
• to complete the machine applique on 6 Morrell blocks
• to complete at least 2 more chapters on SMOWJ

And this is not an April Fools joke. 

I will be taking all this to the Shipshewana retreat next week.

I almost added complete the machine applique on the rest of 36 Huguenot Friendship Quilt but that would be a joke. But I might get it done also. 

Now to finish packing the project boxes. I need to find some thread to machine applique the hearts and the cone of Vanilla Milkshake thread for the Morrell blocks and a seam ripper. I have several. I should be able to locate one to take along. And travel insurance and US cash. I better get busy. 

Blessings,

Chris

Spring and the Shipshewana Quilt Retreat

The quilt retreat in Shipshewana Indiana is fast approaching. It officially begins 2 weeks from tomorrow but we plan to arrive Monday April 8 in the afternoon for a whole week of time away from home responsibilities and little people. Not that I don't like spending time with little people, but this is a quilting retreat. It will be me-time for those of us going. The retreat was sold out weeks ago so it will be a full room of quilters quilting quilts. I have been considering what projects to take along and have narrowed the list down to 5.                                        

1. Beyond the Cherry Trees

I have been working on this hand applique sampler from 

sentimental stitches

on and off for nearly 5 years. It is on now. There are just 4 more of the 25 sixteen inch blocks left to complete. Then the borders. 

This is my hand applique project for this year. 

2.  Huguenot Friendship Quilt

This was an impulse purchase a year ago. All the blocks are laser cut fusible appliques that I arranged and pressed into place. I have some of them machine appliqued down but still many of the 36 blocks to go. It is on my 2019 ufo list. 

3. Morrell Sampler

There will be 60 ten inch blocks and a twenty inch center block. 

I have several more than these blocks fused and pressed onto background squares ready to machine applique in place. Hopefully I will get a few more arrangements made now that I have located some amazing chintz fabrics in my cupboard. 

4. Almost Amish Irish Chain 

This is another ufo I want to complete this year. 

I thought it would be a super simple project for the retreat since all the hard work is done and I only have to sew everything together. 

Not quite. I still have to prep the heart applique shapes and I plan to practice 

the turned-edge-with-starch method. 

5. 150 Canadian Women

This is not on my ufo list for this year but it lends itself well for a 

leader-ender project so that it will be. 

There are many of the 6 inch squares already cut out and ready for stitching just waiting for me to pay attention to it. 

 

I still have some machine quilting to do on Dear Daughter

 before we leave so I can take it for show and tell. 

I have not done much of any kind of quilting this past month. What I did do was look after  my wonderful little boy and little girl grandchildren. March Break ended up being one sick week. Literally. Seven of the 9 people here were sick with a stomach bug that lasted for 2 days each. Fortunately for me, the little children's parents were both here to tend to the details and clean ups. I remained healthy. What I did do, however, was read 7 of the 8 Anne of Green Gables books. I read the 8th one last month. I also reached level 1000 of Candy Crush. I decided to retire there. I have written several thousand words for my book SMOWJ and the research continues. Now to finish the machine quilting so I can start quilting the next one while everything is ready. Spring is here and little things are popping up in my flower beds and the lawn is beginning to look a bit green. 

Blessings, 

Chris

BTW Sun I woke up to 3 inches of snow. 

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March Break

Yes. It is beginning to look and feel like spring is going to arrive this year. The sun is shining profusely and the air has lost its bite. At least for this week. It is March Break here and that means the schools are closed until Mar 18. And, lucky me, all 5 grandchildren are here to spend their time at the farm. I have been able to block time on my calendar this past week and get some serious writing done on SMOWJ. There is still a nice snow cover and tobogganing will happen. That means Gramma has to put her books aside and turn off the computer. But she has plans.

I pulled out the Beyond the Cherry Trees project box that was in time-out this past year as my hand applique focus was on Dear Daughter. That one is still at the machine being quilted.

I have 21 completed BTCT blocks and only 4 to go and 2 of these are half done. I will be prepping as many little bits as I can so  they are ready to travel to Shipshewana with me next month.

I had intended to work on this Hexie Stack-N-Whack as a hand piecing project this year, but as I looked more closely, I realized that I already did all the piecing that can be done and the next step is to decide the layout and start putting it together.
I recently saw a unique layout option. Not sure I can find it again but it has me thinking.

 And aren't those the most yummy flowers ever printed onto cotton? My mind is racing with ideas for my Morrell quilt which I will be taking to the retreat with me. Five whole days and nights to quilt to my hearts content. We will be driving out on Monday and the retreat room doors do not open until noon Wed. And then, of course, there will be shopping.
I plan to machine applique all the Broderie Perse blocks I have prepped so far.
Also, I plan to take one or two ufo's that are simple machine stitching. Don't want to have to think too much.





In the meantime, there will be much indulgence here at the Farm as the girls are learning to "cook". At least learning how to use the can of whipped cream and the chocolate sauce.

Blessings,
Chris
Had a dream last night that I went to a quilt retreat and forgot to take my sewing machine. 

To Do Tuesday

I have not been writing posts about to-do-tuesday. Just sort of forgot to do it.
But I have been making to-Do lists and To-Don't lists and To-Done lists.

Today I spent a few minutes blocking time on my calendar for writing. I got 5 pages written today. Not bad with all the interruptions of a home-sick from school grandchild. She washed the dishes this morning, dried them this afternoon and made milk shakes not once but twice. They were yummy. However, I am working on clean eating right now and dairy in shakes is a no-no. But yummy nevertheless. I am writing about my journey with anger and para menopause. SMOWJ for short. I am so glad that is in my past. One reason because I no longer live there. The other reason because I can share my journey and victories with others.

But I still want to get Dear Daughter quilted. Gay at Sentimental Stitches is offering a new BOM called Cheddarback. It will run for 14 months with one 12 inch and 4 five inch blocks each month. No applique. Just some interesting blocks and a very unique setting from an antique quilt from the late 1800's.

I am determined to not start anything new this year, until, at least, I complete my doctorate and finish writing my book. Got 5 pages written today. Wait. I already said that.

My to-do list this week is:

• block out two 3 hours time spots to write
• write for 3 hours twice more this week
• get ready for all 5 grand children for March break
• eat clean
• turn the clocks ahead on Sat night - at least the computer will do that by default.

Blessings, 

Chris