Change is a Good Thing

Change can be a good thing.  Most of us are a little afraid of change. I know I am.  I have always been loathe to make changes to my life, my stuff, anything.   Sometimes change though can be great.  For example, we're all looking for a change from the heat of summer to some cool autumn days, at least those of us in southern California are, anyway. 

I bought this bag at a quilt show last weekend.

I decided that, while I love the colors and theme (Halloween is my favorite holiday!),  I didn't like those teeny tiny pumpkin buttons.  Yeah, they went with the theme, but they were lost on the bag, and they were cheap, plastic buttons.  I took them off and gave them to a young (6 years old!) quilter to embellish something she made.  Then, I went to the store and bought some larger buttons and put them on, and changed the pocket on the right a little bit (made it a little deeper by sewing up the left side of it a bit).   Here's the final result:

Much happier with the bag now.  I LOVE the big black button on the right pocket and the other two wooden buttons will do... they aren't perfect, but they were the closest I could find to what I want... I'll be keeping my eye out for something else in the meantime.  Still, I'm happy with the changes and love the bag even more now!  Change worked!

Tomorrow I'm going to quilting class, something I had planned to miss because we were having company over.  I had to cancel the event due to illness of one of the guests, so now I'm free all morning, might as well go work on a quilt or two. 

More changes, with positive results.  I could get to like change after all!

Long Time No See

Excuse my absence for so long... I've been really busy and barely keeping up with my Facebook page, and kind of let this one go by the wayside.  My bad, I'll try to do better.  After my Hawaiian cruise, I was feeling very down.  I think I barely survived that trip to be honest.

I think I recovered by mid-April, which is when I started my diet.  I've lost 70 lbs since April 12th and feeling great.  Playing Pokemon Go isn't hurting either... While I'm not walking as much as I could to do it, I'm walking more than I used to.

Add to all this, we adopted a new puppy.  We named him Chewbacca, but we call him Chewiee for short.  Bad name for a puppy... he chews on almost EVERYthing - people, furniture, our other dog.  At least he doesn't chew on quilts!

This is Chewiee just before we adopted him... all fluff!  but not a spare bit of anything on him (he was malnourished when the rescue organization, Sunny Saints, got him, and he looks so much better in this picture than his initial rescue photo!

 This is Chewiee today (he's the smaller of the two), sleeping with our adult Saint, Maggie:  He weighs in at 40 lbs already and growing daily!

I've been really busy - working on a lot of projects I felt I could finish... which leaves all my BOM projects in half-done or not-even-started-yet stages.  I am SO far behind on those... I think I will take them all to my quilting retreat in November!

Now, on to the quilts.  I finished my Matryoshka quilt... worked on this for about 3 weeks two years ago, then sandwiched it and let it linger for  a couple of years.  Finally sat down and quilted it!  Very pleased with this little wall hanging... Not sure what I'm gonna do with it, but it was fun to make.   I collect matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls), so this one was a real pleasure to make... it doesn't really 'go' with my house at all, so I may donate it to my guild for an auction quilt.  We'll see.

Every year, there is a sort of multi-state/multi-national quilt run called 'Row by Row Experience'.  You visit shops, collect patterns based on a theme.  This year the theme was 'home sweet home'.  My rows were the ones shown here.  The first people who complete a quilt and take it (finished, bound and labeled) into a participating shop win a prize (25 fat quarters plus a bonus prize if the shop's own row is in your quilt).  I took mine to Roxanne's A Wish and a Dream Quilt shop in Carpenteria and won 25 really yummy fat quarters and some templates.  Very cool.  

I made this butterfly quilt, all made from batiks, in a 'class'.  The pattern is by Buggy Barn, and while I don't need a class to make a Buggy Barn quilt, it's always more fun to quilt and sew with friends.  Used up the fat quarters I won from LAST year's Row by Row Experience, so win-win!

I made this log cabin quilt years ago... my  first (and possibly last) log cabin quilt.  The blocks are 4 1/2" square, and there were LOTS of them - the quilt is king sized... but it languished in my UFO pile for several years while I tried to decide how to border it.  Then I discovered the perfect border fabric for it (from this year's Row by Row fabrics - a pre-printed border fabric with houses and quilt shops - perfect!)  I put it on 3 sides because just didn't need the quilt to be longer, and don't need it at the top where the quilt tucks into the pillows.  I sent it to Stover's for quilting and waiting for it's return.  It will be our winter quilt for our bed.

This is a Saturday Sampler I did at one of my LQS - Quilty Pleasures in Simi Valley.  It was supposed to be blue and white and square.  I don't like square quilts, and didn't like their colors, so I used my own fabrics and added some blocks to make it rectangular.  This one was sent to Stovers too... waiting for it's return.:

Here is my finished quilt.  While the pattern is called Arcadia Avenue, I call the quilt "Adventures in Technicolor".  I posted pics of the blocks under construction in the past, but that was a long time ago... I finally finished it and it has been juried into a show later this year.  Can't wait to see it hang in an exhibition!:

I made this top, called 'Confectionary' from 20 fat quarters and a little white and gray for the backgrounds.  I made it for fun... a 'use 'em up' fat quarter challenge in a group I belong to called Stashbusters.  I picked 20 mismatched fat quarters and made this top.  I donated it to the guild to sell at their show boutique and sell it did!  Hooray... but I'm glad I made it!  It was fun!:

I made this quilt for our guild president to thank her for 2 years of service.  I designed and pieced the center, and my mini-group designed the borders.  I did most of the sewing on the appliques (3 of the border strips were mine), with one other person doing one border strip (thanks, Melanie!).  We got it quilted and bound and gave it to her last month.  It hung in our guild show last weekend, and it won a ribbon!:

This is a layer cake quilt called Speedwell.  The pattern is available free on the Moda website, and it was SO fast and easy to cut and piece.  Lots of fun to make... Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet.:

This is a little tool tote I made.  I made a bunch of them for the guild show boutique, but I decided to make one for myself (no flowers, and my colors (love that purple and aqua!  Sew much fun!:

This is my latest complete finish, 'A Walk in the Woods'.  I loved making this with it's funky animals and images.  The borders took forever!  - Not my usual color palette, I don't usually work in taupes, homespuns and flannels, but it worked. Very happy with it, and I've submitted it to Road to California to see if it will get juried in... Probably won't know til late October or early November.  Until then, it will hang in my house!:

 A detail shot of the amazing quilting by Georganna Hawley:

In my Saturday class, we made mesh bags.  I made one out of ugly fabric for a contest and enjoyed it and like the results so much, I made a second one for me!  (of course, it's cat fabric!):

Well, IF you're still with me, and aren't bored out of your mind... That's what I've been up to since April.  I've also been playing LOTS of Dungeons and Dragons and Pokemon Go, so all my non-quilting time is pretty much spoken for.  I like having lots to do, but sometimes it seems like too much.  I get overwhelmed easily...

Speaking of overwhelmed, you probably are now too... so that said, I'll end this, but I'll try to keep it up more regularly so I don't need a repeat of this endless post. 

WAYWO??  (What are You Working on?)