Galaxy Stars and Exchange Blocks

Finally, I'm updating my blog!

It's been a long time since I took a quilt class, but here I was in mid-August enjoying the Galaxy Stars class taught by Anita Bowen. I struggled deciding on colors for the quilt. Yes, it's bright; isn't it?   I wanted a quilt featuring pink and brown so I went with that and included some golden yellow.
(Thank you to Anita for taking this picture and sending it to me.)

I've also been working on exchange blocks for our guild. I'm one of the people working on guild programs this year and proposed several categories people could choose if they wanted to be in a block exchange. We'll be swapping our blocks in October. I signed up for two of the themes, but my groups are small. I just completed my exchange blocks for the Gingerbread category. I don't want to uncover the surprise early, but here you can see that my block includes freshly baked cookies cooling by the window.

Next on my list to do will be my blocks with the theme Quilts on Barns. I'm excited to see what I come up with for that one.

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

It's Time for an Irish Blessing

May your day be touched
by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,
and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love.

I'm not a bit Irish, but I always enjoy celebrating St. Patrick's Day - corned beef and cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and onions and a batch of green cupcakes to finish things off.

Yes, you've probably noticed that it has been awhile since I posted anything. It seems I get busy on so many computer sites these days. Also, with my eye trying to recover from surgery I haven't been sewing lately. I'll be sewing soon!

All of my grandchildren have their birthdays from the very end of February to the very first part of March. Perhaps that's good because I have something to post since one of my grandsons wanted a blanket for his birthday. This was my first time trying to make a fleece blanket with the fringe holding the two fabrics together. I'm posting a picture so you can see it. It's chocolate brown on one side and has a dinosaur print on the other. Another of the other triplets wants one now and I bought the fabric, but it will likely be a week or so before I can make it. The hardest part seemed to be trimming the two pieces of fabric so they were square and the same size. I suspect a really large table would have been handy.

Hopefully I can post again before Easter.  Enjoy each day as we move into Spring! 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!
I'm always amazed when I log on and see "how long it has been". Perhaps 2016 will be my year for logging on more frequently.

So, what has been happening? Well, the New Year got off to a rough start. The corner of one of my front teeth broke off on New Years' Day. I knew there wouldn't be any way to deal with it until Monday. Then to top things off I was due to have cataract surgery on Wednesday.

So, most of Monday was spent waiting to hear back from the eye surgeon's office about whether it was okay to have the tooth taken care of that close to my cataract surgery. It turned out that if there was nothing done that impacted my gums, it was fine to get it repaired. I talked with my dentist's office and they got me in for a Tuesday appointment. Tooth repaired without using any injections and I was good to have my cataract surgery on Wednesday. So far, this eye is doing so much better than last time. I changed surgeon, surgery site, and all eye drops that were used. The last surgery was such a bad experience and this time is so much better.

There hasn't been any quilting or other sewing going on so far. My eyes tire pretty easily and bright light is still bothersome. Once I can deal with the bright light I use next to  my sewing machine I think I will work more on the Greater Columbia Quilters 2015 Mystery Quilt. I'll be sure to post a picture of it next time. The fabrics I am using are some that I had been saving for a special project.

Speaking of "special project", I'll share pictures of the I Spy quilt that I made for my granddaughter for Christmas. This was my first time adding "minky" as the backing for a quilt. What an experience! I read somewhere to use spray adhesive to hold the layers together. Spraying the whole thing at once was not working for me. Finally I had better luck spraying one row at a time, quilting that one row and then spraying the next row. I think this will be my one and only quilt backed with "minky" even though I love how soft it feels.