Sister's Choice Quilts

Fire Update

Our golden hills are scorched looking, but the grass underneath the trees burned so hot and fast that the oaks should be ok. The fire's progress has been stopped, but firefighters remain on the scene putting out hot spots and flare-ups. In the photo above, you can see the trenches dug by dozers that stopped the fire's progression. Fire breaks have also been set up on the ridges surrounding the fire area.

People who were evacuated have been allowed to return to their homes. The air is pretty clear, which I don't understand. I guess the wind blew it off in another direction from us. The elementary school was saved, with the fire being put out at the back fence of the school property. The warehouse where my son-in-law used to store his wine has scorch marks all around the building, right up to the doors, but the building was saved and looks to be undamaged. Thousands of homes were threatened, and only one structure was destroyed. A very effective air and land firefighting strategy and dedicated firefighters are the reason for that. 

The incredible work done by the firefighters, air tanker pilots, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Cal Trans cannot be over-emphasized. Also, so many people in the surrounding communities stepped up and offered to come with trailers to transport livestock out of harm's way. So many kind people offered to take in people's pets when they were evacuated. Mr. Rogers always said "Look for the helpers" and he was right. Thank you helpers.

This was an early start to California's fire season, and experts predict that it could be a very severe year for us. All prayers are gratefully accepted.

Jet Lag: the Myth is Real

Oh my goodness. I am suffering from the worst jet lag ever. I don't mind waking up at 3:30 in the morning so much, it is falling asleep all throughout the day that is killing me. I cannot keep my eyes open. I.am.so.sleepy.

I have probably jinxed myself because I have completely succumbed to the sleepiness, and fallen asleep at least twice during the day for a couple of hours. Tonight I probably will be staring at the ceiling for hours. I am really messed up!

However, we had a marvelous time on our trip. I particularly fell in love with Edinburgh. It was amazing to spend time with our son, and we spent many memorable hours cooking together in the evenings.

But I am glad to be home. The laundry is now done. Lots and lots of laundry. The suitcases are unpacked and my husband swears he will put them away tomorrow. I went to the grocery store and actually made a nice dinner. A stuffed tri-tip and homemade baked beans. Except now all I want to do is go to bed. Eating is not on my list of things I want to do. 

Eva watered our plants while we were gone, so everything in the yard looks so nice. The weather is finally full-fledged spring, with blue skies and temperatures in the 80s. It is wonderful to be home to a good hot shower, a washer AND a dryer, and a grocery store that has all the things I want without any confusion. You should have seen me try to explain to a butcher what andouille sausage is. I should have known better. It turns out there is some kind of weird spreadable pork product called N'duja that everyone tried to push on me. Not the same at all. FYI jambalaya is a dish best made at home in the US. Ahren was hungry for it, so I thought I'd give it a try. If you try it overseas, spicy chorizo is as close as you are going to get.

I've been thinking about sewing, and have three colorful summery quilting projects to share with you all in the next week. Just what we need, right? Never too many projects. Well, maybe you can use up some of your stash and sew along with me! More on that after my nap.

Getting a Grip, Making a Plan

I sure did get a lot of encouragement, empathy, and practical suggestions from you all on my last post. I have been feeling overwhelmed with the amount of quilts I have piled up everywhere, the number of projects I have in progress as well as planned for the future. I guess I am more of a "process" rather than "finished project" type of person, and it felt good to hear that many of you were the same. Others, who manage to finish what they start, had some great suggestions on what I might do with my no-longer-wanted quilts, UFOs, and surplus supplies. Read the comments from my last post for some outstanding ideas. 

What are some practical steps I can take to manage my projects and goals more effectively? I think it starts with an organized plan. I have always kept journals and find the practice helps me not only plan ahead, but to set goals and measure the steps I take to accomplish those goals. The top photo is from my 2023 journal. 

So, going forward, I will start up a new journal page with current works in progress and list the steps that remain to complete them. Importantly, I will check in with this journal page weekly and monitor what I have accomplished.

Here is my new page all ready to be filled in. Notice I didn't leave room to write down too many projects. That will help me feel less overwhelmed to see just four or five items in each category. I will prioritize the ones I am most excited about. On the next page, I will note each project and what needs to happen to get it done. 

Years ago, I did a post on scheduling a time to quilt every day. I think my minimum was to try for an hour in the sewing room each day. I want to get back to this practice because every little bit counts toward a finish, and if I am persistent, I will reach my goals. Even if my sewing mojo seems to be on hiatus right now, spending time in the sewing room will be therapeutic.

Getting my head above water will not happen in a day, and I need to allow for some flexibility. While I am on vacation in May, I will solidify my plan to take down all my quilts from their storage shelves and categorize them as to whether I want to sell them, donate them, or keep them. I would love to end up with quilts that I switch out seasonally, use on my beds, and decorate my house. My friend Thelma (Cupcakes 'n' Daisies) does a monthly Quilt Parade on Instagram, showing how she showcases some of the many beautiful quilts she has made. It is inspiring not just to see her work, but to see how she uses them in her decor. 

To show you that I haven't just been sitting around thinking about being productive, here's proof that I got something done yesterday! This is the block Quarters and Dimes from the Mercantile sew-along. Only four more blocks to go!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

 

Moda Blockheads Substitute and Snow

Oh my gosh, some spring break this has been. We had planned originally to go down to Palm Desert to enjoy some sunshine, but couldn't find a decent place to stay. We canceled those plans and decided to stay home. This has been a very lazy week, with me spending too much time on the computer wasting time. I've done some reading, but not much sewing, and don't have much to show for the week. 

Today was Moda BlockHeads release day, but the featured block was all complicated paper piecing, which didn't fit with my lazy attitude. I substituted a block (block 47) from Jessica Dayon's Scrappy Sampler sew-along. Now, here's the thing about Jessica Dayon. She comes up with great block patterns and does a fantastic job of explaining how to construct them. But. She doesn't press, she doesn't pin, and she doesn't trim her block units as she goes. This drives me crazy, but I decided to try to go with the flow and make the block her way. I highly recommend that you watch her block tutorial and you'll see what I mean. She gets great results, but she gets there in a different way than I do. One must have an open mind to other ways of doing things, right?

I did pretty well following along with Jessica, but I absolutely could not resist pressing my block units as I went along. I just had to press. And then, I had to trim my block units to size before sewing them together into the block. 

So, this block unit was fairly complex, with lots of ways to go wonky. I followed Jessica's directions, but could not resist the urge to trim the unit down. As you can see by the trimming, I did manage to shave off some extra fabric and end up with an accurately sized unit. 

Love how my block turned out, but I think I am going to keep pressing and trimming as I go.

And then. Our weather has taken a giant step backward. It is April. It is Spring. We live in California. It is time for sunshine, temperatures in the 70s and spending lots of time outside. But wait, Mother Nature didn't get the message.

Yesterday it snowed. On April 3rd. What is happening?

Have a good weekend everyone!

A Peaceful Day of Sewing

I spent a peaceful day sewing yesterday and completed the eight star centers for my Log Cabin alternate blocks for the Designer Mystery 2023 sew-along.

It was so lovely to get all your supportive email messages in sympathy for my "quiet firing" as Cynthia called it. Have you heard of "ghosting"? It's an expression used in dating when a guy asks you out and things seem great, but he stops calling you and doesn't return your calls or texts. I sort of feel like that. Would anyone have contacted me if I hadn't asked what the heck happened to all my future work assignments? It is a very weird way to run a company and to treat someone who you had told previously was doing great work and was a valued member of "the team". 

Oh well, water under the bridge. I need to move on.

I am so pleased with how pretty this Log Cabin alternate block is. I made one up to see what it would look like and love it. For the next seven, I will make them all at one time, going one round and pressing, etc.

It looks so good with the sampler blocks and brings out all the colors beautifully. The other alternate block is in contrast, very low volume. I like how they work together. Maybe I'll finish them today!

Thanks again for all your kind comments. They made me feel a lot better.

 

The Good News Is, I'll Have More Time On My Hands

If you read my blog regularly, you may recall me mentioning that the company I work for has been using AI more and giving their freelance writers less work. Whelp, they pretty much pulled the plug on me last week. All my work assignments just disappeared from the company spreadsheet we use to see what our upcoming projects are. No phone call, no email. They just removed my work assignments. 

When I emailed my boss in a panic, she ominously replied "I'll call you in a moment". Which she did. It turns out the company won't be using us freelancers much in the future because they are "cutting back". And she said the cutbacks included her. Her last day is August 30. She's worked for and supported this company for 10 years, and made all of us who reported to her feel like we were a team.

She was great to work with. The company itself clearly has some issues regarding the way they treat their employees. They didn't even exactly "fire" me. They just took away my work and said there wouldn't be more. I feel very disrespected and unvalued. At least the new AI robots won't get hurt feelings like the real people they used to employ.

So, I will be broke but will have more time to sew, train my new puppy, read books, and blog regularly.

Speaking of said puppy, here are a couple of pictures. In the first photo, he was sleeping in his crate with his head on his own little stuffed puppy. He uses it as a pillow.

In the next shot, you can see the setup we have rigged in our foyer. It is a really large space, with room for a crate and puppy playpen. Archie is great about using it. He can keep an eye on us from that central spot, which he likes. We get him out about every two hours for a walk or a play session.

Besides feeling extremely sorry for myself this weekend, I did some sewing-related puttering. I brought out my Designer Mystery 2023 project to see where I was with it. I had finished the 12 monthly blocks and five of the alternate blocks. I have eight more alternate blocks to make in a log cabin design which is going to take some time. Here is my layout minus the missing blocks I have yet to make. 

I'll keep you posted on those log cabin blocks!

Hope you all had a better weekend than I did.

 

 

Why Can't I Get Anything Done?

Why can't I get anything done? Ahem. This naughty boy would be the reason. He actually is fairly mellow, compared to other dogs I have owned, but he is a puppy, and therefore, a handful. He demands a lot of attention, that is for sure. He is a total sweetheart, and we love him, but he has a lot to learn!

I have a Halloween block of the month I joined and I need to make up this month's blocks, so wish me luck. Love these fabrics, but have kind of lost focus on what the final project is.

Here are the backings for several quilts I need to send out to the quilters. I need to focus on that task too. I think I have four quilts that need quilting and it isn't serving me well to let them sit.

At any rate, my life right now seems to be in a loop of puppy care, grandchild care, and trying to get through each day with a dinner at the end of it.

Please forgive me if my content isn't as scintillating as I would like it to be!

I do seem to keep coming up with good dinners, in spite of everything else going on, and this quiche recipe was one we enjoyed a lot last night. Southwestern Bacon Quiche, with bacon, chiles, and pepper jack cheese. It looked just like the picture and tasted delicious. 

Hope to sign in later this week with some quilty content, but my life is 24/7 puppy training right now. Thank goodness, it seems like we got a good one!

 

 

 

 

Dithering

I've been in a very dithery mood this week. Nothing holds my attention for long. I find myself torn between sewing a bit, reading a bit, going on an errand, and fretting about things that need to be done... I am sure you have all been there and can relate. I have a lot of irons in the fire and feel scattered.

This Summer Memories basket quilt is going slowly. The units are adorable, but for some reason, I just can't seem to grasp the exact number of half-square triangles I need to make for each of the weekly blocks. Every single week I underestimate the number I need. The segment above is adorable, but I need to make twice as many red half-square triangles to complete the block. I don't know what is wrong with me. My mind is so fragmented lately.

Remember Corey Yoder's Sunny Days sew-along? It is going strong and I have let mine languish. Corey has started coming out with her monthly block patterns which use red and blue fabrics. You should take a look at her YouTube videos, they are fun and instructional. It is an easy project if you aren't an experienced quilter, and is interesting enough to capture the interest of people with more advanced skills. Are any of you sewing along with her?

We are beginning to suspect that Eva has some serious Cinderella talents going on that we haven't been aware of. Her step-sister came out the front door yesterday morning and found this little friend settled in below Eva's bedroom window. Hello. It didn't even leap up and run away, just sat there while Sydney took its photo. It looks like it is thinking "What? I am resting here. Move along." 

Are you dithering this week? Or are you focused and plowing through your projects?

Spring Things

On a scale of totally crappy weeks, this one is near the top, but spring is in the air, so I am feeling hopeful for better things to come.

Sara and Eva are off to Southern California on a Spring Break adventure, and the photos they are sending me seem to indicate they are having fun.

I sure am missing them though.

I did a bit of sewing, and my husband and I took a drive to a local winery that is known for its fabulous Easter tulip and other bulb displays and we were not disappointed. The photo at the top of the post is one I took with my camera, and it looked just like that. The colors were incredible and the scent of the hyacinths was so strong! It really put me in the frame of mind to think that spring and other good things are on the way.

Those are tulips if you can believe it.

These are the last three Sewcialites blocks I have made. Only one more and we are done!

After our excursion to the winery to see the spring bulb display, we came home and made lamb chops with balsamic cherry tomatoes. That was a spring dinner for sure. What a treat.

Hope it feels like spring is finally on its way wherever you are. Be grateful for the people in your life who support you and love you.  Happy Easter and have a great weekend!

 

 

Do You Have Project Overload?

Do you have project overload? I've been thinking about how many concurrent quilting projects I have going on at the moment, and it's a lot. I know many of you are disciplined and just take on one quilting project at time. You work on it until it is finished without getting distracted by something new and shiny. Once the top is pieced you probably even prepare your binding and put it somewhere you can find it. I admire your focus, orderliness, and discipline.

I am not that person. I get so excited about new projects that I often can't seem to help but start something even if I have others that I am working on at the moment. At this point in time, I have seven projects I am working on. I have many many more projects that I have not yet started or have started and set aside. I may get to them, maybe I won't. These seven projects are ongoing, and I work on them steadily, some more than others. These projects are (in the order I am paying attention to them):
1) Peace and Healing
2) Midnight Moon
3) Moda BlockHeads 4
4) Cozy Up
5) Flea Market
6) Red Sampler
7) Cider

Peace and Healing is on the larger design wall. I am in the process of sewing the rows together, so I anticipate that one will be a finish fairly soon. To the left is Cozy Up, which is a smaller size quilt and should not take long to wrap up once I get the next round of blocks made. Everything else is in the tall project bin unit from Ikea in the first photo.

Am I overwhelmed? Well, maybe a little. I'd say I am more frustrated that life gets in my way and I don't have as much time to sew as I would like to. But what made me think about the topic of project overload is a terrific YouTube video by the great Pat Sloan. I highly recommend that you take a few minutes and watch it. Pat discusses project overload and has some terrific tips on how to control it, or at least manage your feelings about it. 

She suggests first and foremost, making a list of your current projects. She talks about deadlines (a baby shower or graduation gift for example) and making that a priority. She suggests making some of your larger projects a smaller size- turning a quilt size project into a table topper (which I have done many times!). She even mentions that if you aren't loving something you started as much as you hoped, to set it aside temporarily or forever. Best of all, she has some tips on how to get caught up on the projects you do love and want to finish.

I have been thinking about this a lot over the weekend, and would also add that if a project you are working on is seasonal (say a Halloween or Christmas quilt) and you hope to use it in the near future, that you move that project to the head of the queue.

I'd love to have you readers chime in on this subject. What kind of quilter are you? Disciplined or schizophrenic? If you have multiple projects going on, does it make you feel overwhelmed? How do you prioritize your projects? Please do share your thoughts and tips!