MY SEWING TABLE

 I have been working all week in my sewing room making quilt blocks, sorting more fabric, and trying to put things in order....

i finally saw the cutting mat lol.......the picture shows the blocks i have been working 

on for a quilt....easy pattern with minimum amount of seam matching.....It takes 4 small blocks to make a big block so it will be awhile before i get it done.....Then i have to make up my mind if i keep it or give it to charity for kids....

Tonight i worked on the string quilt....i have enough for a charity quilt but will have to make 5 more blocks to use on the back side to extend the width without cutting more fabric....it will go to quilts beyond borders...

I have been really working hard in the sewing room with the help of my pain med and tylenol i can work for 4 hours and if i push it i can work for 6 but its too hard on my body the next day so i work in moderation...

Its after 3 am Saturday now so i better go to bed hope i can sleep....some type of storms are coming so dont know how bad it will affect my body and my sleep but will try......more later

FINDING TREASURES

 This evening i was in the sewing room digging under my table in the boxes that are stored there.....i found a box with 2 1/2 in cut squares completely full....so i started looking through the rest of the boxes....i didn't realize i had so many cut already....3 in, 3 1/2 in, 4 1/2, and a few more sizes plus boxes with cut strips with the above measures.....the hard part of the quilts are done lol....

I wasn't feeling well today otherwise i would be working in there....i think i have made up my mind on the next step and block to go with the 16 sq. block....if i was more ambitious i would make a sawtooth star block  and its possible  i may yet when i get in there to start.

I wonder what other treasures i will find tucked in places in the sewing room that i have forgotten about....Ideas are really flowing so now i need to put them to work.....more later

TRYING TO DECIDE

 I am trying to decide the next step for the quilt that is 16 squares 1 1/2......they are so small i dont want to make half triangles that small so looking into using bigger triangles on 4 corners of those blocks and making 4 inch center with bigger triangles on the other block to make it about 2 inches bigger....took a break today to think about it.....i also got a big order of fabric that came...i wanted to get it before Trumps Tariffs take hold....the last time he did this fabric prices rose $4 a yard more...Lord knows what it will cost now....It would be nice if the U.S. had factories that produced fabric like they did back in the 40's-50's....there was one about 40 miles from me that sold ends of bolts and scraps....

Back to the quilt in question if i stick to my plan it will look like a variation of Snowball  design...

I will have to wash up some fabric no matter what i decide for the background triangles as it will take more yardage than i have been working with....

Getting about time to go to bed for tonight.....going to brew me a cup of decaf tea for the last thing tonight and hope i sleep....more later

MAKING BLOCKS FROM MY CUT SCRAP

 Today i worked my limit in the sewing room sewing some of my scrap cut piles into blocks....when put together they will look similar to this quilt top.

Actually i am working on 2 quilts with the same pattern only  one will be bigger size block....When i get the tops done they will go to Quilts Beyond Borders....quilts for kids and teens all over the world....i thought it best to work the scrap piles up rather than chase them around the sewing room again....i straightened more up also before i left....i can see the cutting mat now lol....i am enjoying sewing again but i dont like that i cant go beyond a couple hours while there.....but my back will not let me so i will have to be satisfied....so rest time for now.....supper is easy tonight....hamburger, potato casserole and salad.....now i need some decaf and  relax time.....more later

SORTING

 Today for the most part has been a rest day...i didn't sleep good the last two nights so was tired when i got up this morning....i scanned the quilt groups i follow to see if it would inspire me to go sew....it didn't....so i worked in the kitchen cooking and hunting recipes ...lol

Tonight after supper i finally had the urge to sew....but by then my back was hurting but i went into the sewing room anyway.....Instead of sewing i sorted ..i knew i had squares and rectangles cut of various sizes 8 different sizes for sure.....now they are in their piles and along the way i found blocks and partial ones and stacks of blocks ready to put together.....

I have a lot of these squares that made up this bag left so i may make more of them....i have a lot of those sizes already cut enough to make a bigger tote bag....i also found a block in a blue pinwheel that will make my daughter a potholder....i got it ready to quilt tomorrow if my body  co-operates....thats all i have tonight going to check the net and get ready for bed.....more later

FINISHES

I finished binding the potholders last night...they were blocks laying on my table so thought i would just use them...mine didn't need to be very fancy just useful... the runner i finished earlier....

I'm finding out i can only work for 2 hours before my back says quit.....it is so frustrating i just get a good start then have to quit....at my age i could forget what i had in mind without writing it all down....my mind moves onto other project ideas all the time...

My next batch of potholders are for my daughter...she loves blue so will have to scour the cabinet and see what i find....i think there will be quite a few to pic from i always try to keep a good variety of blues....

My day today has started late i was very tired last night when i went to bed and i guess i am not rested enough yet....maybe later i will venture in the sewing room just to start straightening up the mess, huge mess i left 3 years ago when i quit sewing...i know of 4 projects that was started and they are in the heap somewhere....a lot of fabric needs to be put back in the cabinet and scraps sorted along with the squares already cut for projects...

My coffee is ready and i need it bad so that is about all for now.....more later....

DID MORE SEWING

 This morning i wanted to keep the momentum going with the sewing....i wanted to make potholders for me and my daughter....i really need some and she mentioned long time ago she did too....

I found a couple odd blocks and decided to use them....Tonight i got the runner bound and stitched and 2 potholders done also....i will post pic when i get the other potholder done i worked on.....

i think i better try to make sense of the mess i left when i quit sewing 3 years ago....the room is a mess...i think Thursday i will work on that...i do know i have a mountain of small squares and other shapes down on the bottom of the heap....i had been using those as leaders and enders and have made2 quilt tops by using them like that.....those i had planned to send off to 'Quilts Beyond Borders" and now with the fires in California there may be a need to more quilts....have to find out and see...

Well i am tired tonight and yes my back is hurting so it needs a rest but being more active wears me out faster...so i am wrapping this up.....more later

FINALLY SHE WORKS

Finally she works....my machine balked at all my attempts to get her to work for the last  year.....today i thought i would give it one more try.....i gave her extra long tails to start with the quilting but still no good....then i happen to think she liked the tall spindle better so i tried that and YAY it worked....i had forgotten about that all this time.....

I had sewn together a runner last fall for my daughter but when i went to quilt was met with all kinds of problems so i gave up but now i was able to quilt it....i am so out of practice...its the first i have quilted since 3 years ago because of health problems.

This is the first step to see if my back and legs will let me sew again....today it was ok.....i just have to remember not to sit there all day....i havent tried to lay a quilt out yet but if i am going to quilt i will have to be able to do that again.......more later.

I'm Still Here

Here it is December already....i am still hangingin there but very little sewing at the present....i did get my old necchi machine going....it takes some heavy oiling and playing with it to get it to move....i did sew a small table topper together in salmon and aqua colors and when i went to use that machine i quilt with it refused to work right so that is where i am with sewing at the present time.....

I have a lot of trouble with A-Fib attacks and i have to do a lot of resting and housework is getting to be a struggle.....but i keep trying not getting as much done as i would like....

Our town does not have a grocery store and i cant walk the big stores in the towns around me so my son takes my list and when he comes he brings my groceries....without that it would be impossible to keep living here in my home....

I still have a problem with sleeping times are radical as ever....one day i sleep a lot then not sleep for another day....tonight i hope to get some sleep as i have to be up early when my son comes....i have a project for him to make my life alittle easier to manage....so sorry how i have neglected this blog but not much in sewing to report and i doubt many would like to hear me gripe about pain  and other problems....

New year coming time for new attitudes and ideas and starting over in a sense ...so  i hope we all can see our way clear to heed these words of wisdom...lol.....next time all... 

HIT A SNAG

I hit a snag with my sewing....i did get my old machine back working again and now when i went to quilt my other little machine wont work....i have been away from sewing for 3 years so i might have forgotten something.....no sewing until i figure out how to get it going again.....it balls up under the quilt and then jams....i has been tempermental in the past so i wasn't surprised.....i got all stressed out and got my A-Fib in an uproar so trying to get that settled down before i try to deal with it again....things were going along pretty good until then....

My sleeping habit is still radical as ever.....tonight i will be up most of the night cause i get a lot of pain before it rains and its due in the morning for 2 days so i took pain med and it wipes me out then i sleep for 8-13 hrs then i am awake for maybe a day before i sleep again....gotta get busy my son brought my groceries from my list yesterday so have to put them up and start thinking about my next meal....with my sleeping habit meal times are all messed up too...who would have thought about making a cherry pie at 1am in the morning but that is what i did yesterday lol.....ok gotta get some decaf and start my day at 11pm more later...... 

Worked on some 16 sq. blocks

 I did some sewing of little 1 1/2 in squares the last 2 days to make some 16 sq blocks...i found 16 of them on my table and some sq already cut so instead of moving them around i sewed them up to get them out of the way....i'm finding that my arm just kills me to sew....i hurt it years ago, popped a bicep....the docs dont want to mess with it because of my bad heart...they told me it would be very weak the rest of my life....and boy does it hurt when i do too much....i found a couple bags of star blocks different sizes on the table when i started to organize things...so much to do in there but i will keep trying...i cant lose the use of this arm this is the one i use all the time....i will get some pics next week soon as i figure out how to get them out of my phone.....more later

TRYING TO SEW AGAIN

After 3 years i am trying to get back to sewing.....i had a second heart attack in that length of time and a bunch of other health problems.....i missed making quilt tops and working with fabric.....so i am making an attempt to go at it again.....My old sewing machine had quit in that time and the repair shop said it was too hard to find parts for it so i didn't take it in.....but i oiled it good and it is working slower but then me 82 years old is working slower also...that is what is so frustrating..

I left a mess when i stopped sewing in there so i am attempting to work on it....i have 2 quilt tops started for Quilts Beyond Borders to work on which will help with all the scrap laying around on my work table...

I cant sew like a mad woman like i use to though so i suppose i will have to get used to that....and not that long at a time,,,I used to get a top done in an evening but not now i dont think....but any sewing i do will be progress from what i have done in 3 years.....more later

Update on life

Oh my its been so long since i posted....i'm still hanging on here at home....so much pain in my back and legs i have not been sewing at all...

When the pandemic started i made masks for the hospital and family . Then while doing that my old machine decided to die....i think for the last time....the tech said the last time she went to the shop he was having trouble finding parts to get her going again..so i am trying to make a decision do i take her in one more time or buy a new machine...i have a small Viking machine that is set up for machine quilting....she is fussy now and then so not crazy about upsetting it...i have been looking on line with the pandemic stores arent open to the public so much so it hard to try to go in and operate any to see if i like them....

I am still trying to find a way to lay out my quilts to keep my back and legs happy enough to get them ready for hand quilting....i would rather hand quilt anyway as i do a better job....so i am still struggling to get back into sewing...there isn't a day goes by that i dont miss it...

I see there has been some interest in the posts i did on my grandmothers flower garden and the technique i use...this makes me very happy.....and i am happy those who followed me are still here...thank you....hopefully you will see more of me this year.....

The pandemic has a big grip on our county and i am still in quarentine .....i doubt my heart will make it if i get the virus so its very scarey.....more later

 

Quarantine Is Getting To Me

I'm having a bit of trouble tonight....I have been in self quarantine since Feb. and I am feeling a little stir crazy tonight.....I have a lot of health problems that put me on the high risk list....the only person I have seen is my son and maybe a person or two when I got a few groceries at the dollar store....

I am a tough old bird but I am getting bored though there is plenty to do here at home....but its the same thing over and over every day....a person needs a break now and then....

Our little county is just now getting the virus...we had escaped it for the most part till now and the amounts are growing....I guess I am a little scared too because I sure don't want the virus.....ya know its a terrible thing to be in the hands of people that wont take precaution against the virus and that a person can die because of it and cant do anything to stop it....I am not use to that....I have dealt whatever was given to me in the past to deal with but this is terrifying...

I guess I needed to rant tonight....its good that I have somewhere to let out my feelings...don't do this very often and I hope I don't do it again.....that is all for tonight....hope I can sleep...….more later.....

More Suprises

Yesterday I found an unopened package on my dining table....after opening it I thought yup there is the prints for the black bag I am going to make....I have a main print that has black, gray, beige and off white in it but I lacked pieces to blend with them in a patch bag....My grand daughter in law likes black and gray a lot so I thought this one will be for her.....the blue in the pic ….is probably for my stash...I use Hoffman solids a lot as they do blend well.....

Last night my body was in so much pain I went to bed and watched tv....there was a weather front coming in so I blamed the weather for all my pain....today seems to be a better day....Just getting started and the day is half over so I don't know how much I will get done...I might even sew a little before I take the machine off the table....for now.....more later..