The End?

Increased health concerns made quilting a challenge for the past several years. Not only quilting was a challenge, but blogging, writing and even daily activities. Thank you for coming back and sharing this journey.

It is with deepest sadness to inform readers that midday on September 5, 2024 Bellezza Squillace passed away peacefully at home. She left numerous quilts in progress and unfinished. Some include notes to self on what was needed to complete. Some notes mention to whom the quilt was to be shipped. Others have a pattern folded into dedicated materials.

Bellezza often credited Lee George with teaching her the art of quilt making. Lee was my mother and Bellezza my life partner. In memory of both these amazing women my plan is to complete this work. Below is link to the memorial fund dedicated to this effort. Thank you for sharing.

https://angelink.com/fundraiser-public/83403815-91a0-4ed0-852f-44bb34a42564

Changing Blog Themes

I am finding it difficult to blog about quilting.

I am finding it more difficult to blog. As I age, skills seem to wane. Common, I suppose.

At any rate, I want to put a new normal for me up in place of the current quilting blog.

That can keep the status quo. I may finish quilts this year.

I will write a closure before changing, because I never know what it means. Any of it.

Catching up, Slowly

Justin loved the Grinch quilt.

I’ve lost so much energy to this stomach issue, that I’ve had to really pace myself.. My hands shak too so it’s hard to hand sew. I am reminded of a conversation with my Gramma Lizzy who told me she couldn’t thread needles any more. Mine is Essential Tremor and vision. I really don’t know what her health issue was. My Aunt Helen still embroiders and she is 93 or 94 now.

Then, I just continued with the BOM quilts I am behind on.

I am still working on the blocks. We are to have a month on them, so working on them the way I feel is hard. I used to need a day to do a block, and now it takes so much more time. I see how it’s about the pacing.

Admittedly, fear sets in that I won’t get things done. Some days I feel so bad, it must be what dying feels like. The pain is real. My Gastroparesis Doctor is still running diagnostic tests.

Because of the fracture/injured muscles, I backed out of my swaps til I am caught up and feeling better.

Red Bleeds

I decided not to risk giving a quilt I thought might bleed. I washed it, and it bled. I couldn’t bring myself to take a pic of it. Then I discovered some help.

If you run extremely hot water in the tub and add 1/2 cup of Ultra Dawn, then soak the stained quilt for 6-8 hours, it could remove most, if not all the stain. Then rinse in cold and run it through the washer again in cold. I hung it over the shower door to dry. Those stars had been pink!

The pic doesn’t show just how white they are, but I am so much better with how they look.

I plan to do an echo stitch inside of them, give it a little press, and send it out the door. Then I plan to gather up all my red fabric and give it away.  As much as I love red, I am done with it.

It’s been a hard experience even though the quilt is somewhat rescued.

Then I sent out a Fall mug Rug to a person who won a game. She’ll get it Friday. It is cute and I might even make some more Tday mini quilts if there is time.

I did finish hand sewing the Secret Santa quilt tonight, but the house gets so dark, I didn’t take a pic of it.

Next is the Grinch quilt and an attempt to make a mini or two with a holiday pattern I found.

I want to stay low key this year, but am already feeling the holiday strain. I decided I will work on pacing.

Silly Birds Swap

The arm is healing. Yet, I am so antsy that I have to do something.

First is catching up on the swaps, and then, the BOMs. I was two months behind on the Silly Birds. It is a six month commitment. We are to use the same pattern and make two each month; one to send, and one to keep.

September is blue, and October is red. I didn’t make my birds. I just really wanted these out.

Then I worked on the Orange BOM & just need to clip threads, check seams and make sure it is the correct size. It too will get mailed tomorrow.

Fall Table Runner swap

I love this one and will be hard to ship it off.

It lays against a Fall quilt back. I plan to make another to keep. I love how it turned out.

Now onto my holiday gifts for the younger Grandkids. I need to finish a quilt and make the other one a pillowcase.

I fractured my left mid-shank humerus while rock climbing so need to pace myself. Getting older is not fun. This was my first break, ever, so I am not whining. I’m all strapped with it to prevent moving, yet it is really hard to sit still.

Back at it

I am so excited about this. It is made entirely of scrap quilt orphan blocks and strips from my stash. It is laid over batting so it measures out with the back. I plan to spray baste and have it ready for a Secret Santa gift in December. 

I am thrilled to use so much from my stash! Yes, it looks wrinkled. Finish pictures before it leaves here for its new home. I saved the leftovers from three different quilts that are clearly indicated in rows. 

When there are enough colors, everything matches, patterns can be seen in the columns. Then, I pulled out a fabric for vertical sashing, and another for vertical borders.

I got a piece of batting cut, and also cut the back, which needs joining and cutting to size.

After watching some You Tube tutorials, I learned the different types of basting. Thread and needle for hand quilting, safety pins for machine quilting, and spray basting for long arm. Spray basting also works for scrappy quilting because pieces may be cut every which way, and be from numerous fabric houses as well as years. I don’t know if or which have been pre washed, so it gives all pieces a 

chance for a little uniformity in the piecing.

Also, I finished a Birthday gift, which is a candle mug rug and a jar opener. It’s hard to see how the jar opener works as it show dark in this pic. I plan to make more for gifts this year, so will see if I can get better shots on here. 

I am quite aware that the next generations don’t really want gifts as much as they want time, conversations and doing things together. Hard when they are all 2000 miles away.

We do our best.

The next thing I worked on was the mini quilt swap for September. I love how he turned out so much that I had to ship him right away or I might have kept him. So he is in the mail. 

I love the idea of making mini quilts. My fabric supply is getting down finally, and I can handle those projects better. 

It’s been so much fun, and while there is enough to keep me busy for years, I am ok with pacing myself and having a great deal of pleasure. No matter if everyone I know has a share of quilts, so many folks still appreciate them.

Well, this same person is my partner in a table runner swap. So onward!