Kidney Eviction

Spent most of yesterday at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis. Hubby had a 10am showtime for a noon surgery. After his partial nephrectomy in March to remove a cancerous tumor, we just couldn't get him healed up. So yesterday we had the rest of the kidney removed. He was wheeled away about 12:30 with the idea that it was probably about a 3 hour surgery. It lasted 4 hours instead. By the time he got out of recovery and to his room, it was 6:30pm. I left him alone to get his bearings and for his body to remind him what all he'd been through at a little after 7pm putting me home at 8:00. Thank goodness Mom came to the house and took care of Gracie & Polly!

So during the four hour wait, what did I do? My next Afternoon Delight block went from this ....

All parts glued in place.
Stems already sewn down.

to this!

All sewn down.
Mauve berries glued and ready to be sewn!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, kind words, and prayers. We're looking to get DH home Thursday. I'll be visiting him at the hospital this afternoon. So glad I am able to visit this time but can't take Mom. Still only one guest allowed during the corona virus pandemic. At least I get to go. During his April hospitalization for twelve days, no visitors were allowed.

Have a good Wednesday!

July FNwF and Rainbow Scrap Blues

During the week I purposefully had prepared an applique block for sewing on Friday night. Cheryll had sent out the invitation for Friday Night with Friends and I fully intended to be there! This is #20 for Afternoon Delight which is being offered on The Quilt Show. All you have to do is join and the block of the month is FREE. You can get all the details HERE.

So last night night I finished all the nooks & crannies of the circle on the left. I also started adding the "spokes" in the picture on the right. It will end up being a circle in the middle of the circle on the left. I am working this "off block" as my friend Katie taught us during one of our meetings for TAS (The Applique Society). An earlier similar block I did not do like this and, while it turned out OK, it was a pain to sew. I'm thinking (and hoping) that this will be more Sue-friendly!

Previous Twirly Block

So that is what was accomplished last night while watching Blue Bloods. We managed to get into Season 6. Thank goodness for DVD rentals from the library as there is no good TV-watching lately.

Wednesday was July 1 and so Angela chose our next color. It is sky blue. I have totally run out of shades of blue so I have decided to take a pass on the color this month. However, I was late starting the hexies for Heartfire so I will catch them up this month. I have ZERO light/bright green ones for January and just the start of TWO orange ones for February. I also cut out the pieces for ONE teal and TWO dark green blocks for Awesome Land. That will catch me up for those months as well. It all works out perfectly for me because I knew I only needed EIGHT colors for Awesome Land and only SEVEN colors for Heartfire.

I did manage to finish up the pink Heartfire hexies.

My Patriotic Gameboard is finished and hanging.

I finished Block #19 for Afternoon Delight.

I also completed the June 15th clue for Bloomtopia (bottom right motif).

I located my Star in a Star basket, sorted my pieces, and determined that not all the blocks had been pieced entirely. This is my challenge UFO that is due at the August 25th meeting. It is also on my list for the 2020 PHD Challenge.

Various Parts Waiting Completion

Glimpse of 5 Completed Blocks

And how could I end this long post without a picture of our handsome Brody. I think he's looking more boy and less baby!

I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrappy to see how the others are doing with Sky Blue and also with Cheryll at Gone Stitchin' to see how and what my international friends are doing.

Special thanks to my friend Millie for picking me up to visit a quilt store and enjoy lunch out. Fred's kidney will be removed this Tuesday so I don't know how long I'll be house bound taking care of him. Nothing like a good friend to cheer one up, right?

Have a great week!

July PHD Report

I'll make this short & sweet ... hopefully. What did I hope to accomplish by month end?

To-Do List for June

1. Get that Kyoto to the finish line!!! - Finished in time for Show 'n' Share at my LQS via Zoom. This counts on my PHD list!

2. Get Pooh finished too! - Top is completed. Count that as a win too! Started this QAL with Quilting Gail in June.

3. Cross Patriotic Wall Hanging from my list! - Finished except for stitching down the binding & hanging sleeve and writing on the label. This is the project I found when I was reorganizing my upstairs sewing space due to the baker's rack I snagged. You can read about it HERE.

All in all, I think I did pretty good reaching my June goals. Just a couple loose ends and then I'm done. So what will I hope to do for July?

1. Quilt, bind, & label Winnie the Pooh

2. Finish Patriotic Wall Hanging 100%

3. Get Star in a Star top assembled. This quilt is due at my LQS on August 25th. It finishes as a queen-sized quilt. For credit at the shop, it will also have to be quilted, labeled, and bound. Definitely a big job for July & August. Currently, 5 of the nine 24" blocks are assembled and the top & side borders are complete. What's left? Assemble the final 4 blocks and finish the 4 border cornerstones. They are hand appliqued Celtic knots. Sounds like a hospital project to me!

4. Quilt, label, & bind Hope.

5. A little more progress on Eva Grace would be nice too!

Thanks to Quilting Gail for keeping us accountable with our PHDs. I'll be linking up with the others and cheering my fellow PHDers on!

Final RSC Saturday in June

As I'm sure you already know, Angela picked pink for our Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month. Last post I said that I was short one pink Awesome Land block. Dopey me! Forgot it was finished yet still under my needle so all nine have been accounted for. Too bad I can't say the same for the aqua and the light blue ones. I think I'll just make a few extra ones in a different color. I think I've got enough blue variations for this project already. To keep me honest, here's a picture of all nine pink Awesome Land blocks.

I also have 4 of 7 Heartfire hexies/blocks done. The last three only have the outer ring to go so they'll be done by June 30, I'm sure. I'm wondering what July's color will be ....

What really took up all my time was getting Kyoto across the finish line. It was due for a UFO Challenge at my local quilt shop this past Tuesday, June 23rd. Finished it up the night before and got the label done that morning. The pattern was created by Jinny Beyer and this was a 2018 BOM. I bought the fabric kit from Jinny so I could learn how to use stripes better.

Here are a couple pictures of the finished quilt, its label, and pieced backing showing some of the quilting. I love using the fabric design on the front as my quilting motif. That's what I did for the outer border. I quilted Kyoto on my domestic home sewing machine.

This quilt finished at 58" x 64". It's rather large, too large for a wall hanging, not sure about using it for a lap quilt. It was a lot of work since it was hand-pieced. I might lay it across my dining room table .... Hmmmm. We'll have to see.

Of course, the UFO meeting was held on Zoom. Nice to "see" the ladies again and catch up a little with them. At the end, our fearless leader (Cindy) chose the next number. I'll be working on Star in a Star in a Star which was a Twisted Mystery quilt that I worked on through my guild. Most of it is done, only the four cornerstones to make. Then I'll need to sew it all together and then get it quilted. It will take a while as it is a queen-sized quilt. When I locate all the pieces, fabrics, and directions, I'll let you know the exact size! Due date is August 25th but I don't want to wait until August 24th to start working on it! Hahaha!

I've also been busy with the Winnie the Pooh sew-a-long. I posted pictures of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet HERE, HERE, and HERE.Yesterday I finished Eeyore.

This afternoon I sewed the flimsy together.

Awfully cute, isn't it? Need to get it sandwiched & quilted. It's pretty good-sized too at 46" square. Nice size for a baby quilt.

Two more blocks appliqued for Afternoon Delight.

All in all, I'd say it was a very good week. Now let's get this weekend rolling! I'll be linking up with Angela on Saturday.

FNSI and RSC

My goodness, I sound like some sort of governmental agency or something. FNSI. RSC. Oh brother! Follow along and I'll explain if you don't already know.

FNSI (Friday Night Sew-In) is hosted by Wendy at her Sugarlane Designs blog on the third Friday of each month. Quilters all around the world have the opportunity to join in the linky party, take the opportunity to enjoy stitching, and then sharing what you worked on and check in on what the others have done with their evening. This month you can see the activity of all RIGHT HERE!

So what did I work on? I got some fabrics coordinated for the next block of Afternoon Delight and put some stitches in it. I managed to get the outside of this circle appliqued down and the start of a few of the points. Check the bottom left corner ....

I really should have prepped the circle that goes into the middle of the previous block so I could put it away.

I apologize for not pressing it before taking its picture!

Earlier this week I sewed together Tigger for the Winnie the Pooh sew-a-long. I think he looks magnificient!

Of course, in between I sewed Awesome Land blocks as leaders & enders. That's one of my RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) projects. This month's color is pink. I'm linking up with Angela's RSC Linky Party HERE! So much pink to look at!

Bottom row, middle block is the last of the dark green blocks finally sewn up from last month! I'm getting quite a pile of blocks for this project which isn't too surprising. After all, we started this in January and here it is June already!

The reason there are three sets turned out is because I counted what I had this morning. Oops! There's only eight pinks done and each color needed nine. Then I discovered there are also only eight aqua/turquoise blocks and, oh my gosh, only seven light blue ones! I'll be playing catch up with those colors this week for sure!

I finally got this young lady's picture. Activity started out a little slow at the hummingbird feeders this year but it has been picking up lately. I think maybe the tardiness might have been caused by our unusually wet & cold spring maybe?

On Thursday my mother turned 87. I made birthday scones for her and dropped them off at several friends' and family's homes on my way to her house. Everyone loved them and Mom's neighbor actually called me to say they were the best scones she's EVER had!

The tidbits in them were cinnamon morsels made by Nestle. I had a hard time finding them for a different recipe but, when I found them, I bought several bags. Mom & I saw the scone recipe on the back of the bag and we agreed that we should try these one day since they sounded so tasty. Oh my! They're even better than we imagined. I think it's probably because it called for roasted (not toasted) walnuts. I had to actually cook them in the oven and wow! Soooooo good! I might double up the nuts next time I make these .... and I'm not even a nut lover!

Have you ever seen black hollyhocks? I hadn't but I spied these in someone's back yard while walking Gracie this week.

There were also pink ones. I loved the double pinks in the back. They look like carnations.

Here's a picture of my favorite hosta. I love that the stems aren't super tall and the stems are loaded with flowers. The leaves are really textured too.

In other news, my husband's surgery has been set up for noon on Tuesday, July 7. The kidney will be officially outta here!

Have a great weekend! I'm ready to get Gracie out on the trail this morning followed by (hopefully) finishing up the quilting on Kyoto today .... right after I make some potato salad for dinner tonight!

Mid-June PHD Report

I'm feeling pretty good about my June progress so far, but I'm starting to get a little nervous about Kyoto. It is due June 23 for a show 'n' share on Zoom with my local quilt shop. But hold on! I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. Let's review my goals for June.

My To-Do List for Mid-June:

1. Finalize quilting plan for Kyoto. Um, I have ideas floating in my head but nothing is final ... YET!
2. Select a backing fabric and pin-baste Kyoto. I couldn't find a piece large enough (that I liked) for Kyoto so I measured, figured, drew, and then sewed up a backing. So some progress but need to cut batting and then get out the pins.
3. Make the binding and the quilt label for Kyoto. Nope!
4. Quilt, bind, & label Hope. Nope!
5. Finish, quilt, bind, & label Patriotic Wall Hanging. I did finish the piecing for Patriotic Wall Hanging. Also, I found enough fabric on the clearance rack at a local quilt shop for the backing. Need to get this moving again too.

So there you have it. Progress on my To-Do List but need to start thinking about getting them completed 100%.

In the meantime, I've picked up Eva Grace again. She's on my PHD list for 2020 so that's OK, sort of, but I think I'm supposed to be concentrating a bit harder on my To-Do List. And as if that isn't enough, I started a new project. Did you just hit your forehead with the heel of your hand? Hahaha!

Quilting Gail, who is our fearless leader for our PHDs, started a Winnie the Pooh Sew-a-Long. I know of a couple of people that just had or will be having soon babies. How could I resist? If (and yes, that's a big IF) I keep up, this should be finished by the end of the month. Oh brother, here's another thing to add to my To-Do List! I better start listing things and be a bit reasonable ....

So there you have it. No finishes and one new start.

To-Do List for June

1. Get that Kyoto to the finish line!!!

2. Get Pooh finished too!

3. Cross Patriotic Wall Hanging from my list!

That ought to keep me busy! I'm heading to my sewing room right after I link up with Quilting Gail to turn in my report. Wonder how everyone else is doing? We can find out right HERE!

Have a great week!

RSC = PINK! Glorious Pink!

Hot diggity! Angela chose pink for June's color. Since I didn't get any pink sewing done the first week, I made an extra effort to have something to show today. And I do! First up are my Awesome Land blocks, which I used as leaders & enders.

Oh my! Did you happen to catch that dark green one in the mix? Yes, I discovered the pieces for it PLUS another set of green pieces for the last (I hope) dark green Awesome Land block.

These blocks were made while piecing a couple of things. First, did you catch my most recent post .... a couple of hours ago? I'm sewing with Quilting Gail and making a Winnie the Pooh quilt. You can find the pattern by Sew Fresh Quilts HERE. You can also join Gail & me & probably more right here on Quilting Gail's blog. It's going to be adorable!

I'm making the large size and here is Winnie the Pooh! Ta! Da! We are now working on Piglet with Tigger and Eeyore to follow.

I also used my leaders & enders to get this far on Heartfire blocks.

One more round to go on these followed by three more and I'm done with them for the month. I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrappy to share my pink projects and to check in on my RSC buddies. You can too right HERE!

This week I also joined some friends for a little sewing one afternoon. It was my first face-to-face meeting with quilting buddies and it was so refreshing. Thank you, Millie, for inviting me and thank you, Sharon, Karen, and Judy for joining me. Your friendship is dear to me.

I brought applique to work on, Eva Grace specifically. I don't know why I put it aside but it's really coming along now.

I got most of the leaves sewn on during medical procedures being performed on my husband and also during his trips to the ER and doctor appointments for check-ups. Applique is very therapeutic for me.

Speaking of hubby, at our last appointment it was determined that since there has been no significant signs of the kidney healing in the past 2 1/2 months, it will be removed. We are waiting to hear from the hospital scheduler as to when that might be.

On a happier note, our grandson Brody turned one last week. There was a big party to celebrate, of course.

Brody with his other Grandmother

Waiting on Cake!

He had a pool party!

Last week also marked my Baby Girl's 40th birthday. I cannot believe how quickly those 40 years have flown by. She will always be my #1 daughter. She keeps me on my toes and often off-balance, but always centered. She's a beautiful person inside & out.

See what I mean? Lol!

Have a great week, everyone! I'm off to walk the dog followed by getting her to the groomer .... finally allowed!