Not much sewing... Gearing Up for GenCon

Well, the title sort of says it all... I am falling behind on my sewing projects from simple lack of enthusiasm, and now with Gencon looming on the horizon (well, not that far ahead - it starts at 11am pacific time tomorrow), it doesn't look like my sewing mojo will return any time soon - or if it does, it will be preempted by my love of gaming.

I did spend a little time sewing this morning - I made block four of Pat Sloan's Picnic quilt...

Not exactly 'hot dogs and hamburgers' colors, but I loved chasing butterflies in the park as a kid, and so to me, this reminds me of picnics. 

Last week, I made these blocks for the Jolly Bar quilt.  I was actually caught up on this one - but a new pattern came out a couple of days ago:

And I made the four blocks that make the center star in the snowflake quilt below (there's more blocks released, but I haven't made them yet):

And two weeks ago, I  took an online class with Latifah Saafir on how to cut and machine piece a clamshell quilt.. It was all run on zoom - so we all sewed from the safety of our personal sewing studios.  Here's mine, all sewn together - just needs a back, some batting and of course the quilting.

All told, considering how much time I HAVE to sew, I'm not doing much... I hope after Gencon is over I will feel more like sewing...

The Relativity of Time

Einstein once said: "When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it's only a minute. But when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it's two hours. That's relativity."  Well, he was right.  Time is very relative... Seems like it's been forever since I posted here, but it's only been a week (that's still too long, but time just got away from me this last week)...

I HAVE done some sewing... from time to time... but not nearly as much as I could have.   I have no excuses... I did do some online gaming with friends (playing Pathfinder  - kind of like Dungeons & Dragons, as in it's a fantasy role playing game, but different rules), and watching a few movies and of course Hamilton repeatedly.  Still, I could have sewn more, too. 

I sewed my first block for Pat Sloan's 'Going on a Picnic' quilt.  I really had fun with this one:

 I've done several blocks for different projects:  First is my sparrow tracks blocks for the Jolly Bar Sew Along by the Fat Quarter Shop:

And my spool blocks, also for the Jolly Bar Sew Along:

And my first four blocks for the Jelly Snowflake mystery:

And I picked all my fabrics for the Meadow Mist 'Morewood Mystery' which starts next month.  I am happy with them, but with a month to go before it starts, I will probably start rethinking things, which is usually dangerous... I hope I don't have time to start changing things around, I LIKE these fabrics, even if they go against what's recommended (she recommended a tonal or solid for the background, and use non-directional prints, if any used, in the other four fabrics).  I am using a non-directional print for the background and tonals  for the other four fabrics.  We'll see how it goes!

Have I finished anything?  Of course not!  Have I put borders on any of the quilts that are waiting for them?  No... Have I put sashing between the rows of my Whale quilt and sewn them all together?  No... Have I made a binding for my Out of This World quilt? No... I'm... um... working on growing my UFO pile... yeah, that's the ticket!!!  It's all intentional, lol...

So Many New Starts... where are the finishes?

I have, in the last week, either started or prepared to start (pulled fabrics) for no less than 5 new projects - all of them are online quilt-alongs, sew-alongs, or mystery quilts.  I'm really looking forward to doing all of them! 

I'll be doing the Meadow Mist Mystery quilt, 'the Morewood Mystery'.  You can find more information about it here:  https://meadowmistdesigns.blogspot.com/p/morewood-mystery-quilt.html

I'll also be working on (or starting) three Pat Sloan sew alongs or mysteries: 'Out West', 'Going on a Picnic' and the 'Jolly Bar' sew along.  You can learn more about these at Pat Sloan's blog page:  https://blog.patsloan.com/  .  I'm also doing her July calendar too... It'll be interesting (check out her page for more information about the calendar!

And of course I'm still working on several UFOs, so I'm not lacking for projects to do.. just lacking in motivation... I hope I get through July and maintain my sanity - what little I have left, that is.

Has my 'get up' got up and gone?

I am just about fully recovered... I have my mobility back, most of the discomfort is gone, and hopefully after this afternoon, when I get my stitches out, the last of that will be gone as well. Maybe I'll get to work again with more enthusiasm when it's not so uncomfortable to do so.

This past week, I put together my Childhood Games top (designed by Pat Sloan).

I didn't like it borderless, so I added a narrow dark border, and I like it a lot more.  I was planning on a second border, but now that I see it as is, I'm not sure it needs more, it just looks finished now. 

Opinions are welcome... is it done?

Anyway, I've got so many quilts in progress, some are mysteries and I can only do one block a month, others are just sitting and there's no reason for delay... I am feeling 'stuck' on these projects - a couple just need binding, some need sashing, others need blocks assembled, one needs a decision on borders (not the one above, a different one, so I guess 2 need border decisions, lol).

To top it off, I have quilting to do as well... one of my appliqued wall hangings has spots where the quilt is sagging a bit - because I didn't quilt it heavily enough inside the appliques.  I am a bit heartbroken, as I made two of this quilt, so that means the other one, which was made for a charity auction put off due to the quarantine, also needs more quilting.

So much to do and so much time and I'm just not feeling the enthusiasm for it all.

Where is my MOJO????

Playing Pretend

Yay!  I get my stitches out next week!  I'm so looking forward to that... until then, baby steps... I drove for the first time yesterday.  Today, I am sewing, working on Pat Sloan's Childhood Games block 18.  It is a wild card block - it represents anything we want it to... For me, it will represent my favorite childhood game of all - just playing pretend.

My friends and I used to stage elaborate and completely extemporaneous plays with no audience except ourselves, the players.  Each of us would take on the name and persona of some person from a book or movie and have incredible mash-ups of history, fantasy, science fiction and temporal dissonance.  We would tell these incredible stories that developed as we played... sometimes these 'plays' would last from after breakfast til we were called in for lunch... then pick up again (sometimes with changes in cast and roles) til the streetlights came on and we were called in for dinner.  We would range the whole neighborhood, into the orange groves nearby and to the school and park grounds closest to home.  We rode our trusty steeds (bikes) around the area, climbed trees, hopped fences and staged very elegant sword fights all in the name of drama.  Everything was very cinematic (we all had friends or family in the film industry including some of us kids)...

It was the most intense and memorable play of my childhood.  Fond memories.  I rarely see kids play pretend like that today.  My son did a bit with a friend of his, (She was the Pirate Queen and he was Captain Swashbuckle in one repeated game they played), but those games were few and far between.  I love seeing young (and old) folks and kids cosplaying because it is an off-shoot of playing pretend.  I hope the 'art' of playing pretend never dies out.  Perhaps my love of playing pretend is why I love roleplaying games so much.  Dungeons and Dragons and games like it have been a mainstay of my life since 1974.  I still play 2-3 times a week.

Card Tricks!

I'm still recovering from surgery, so taking things slow.  But... Pat Sloan put Card Trick into the Childhood Games quilt, so I HAD to make one right away.  I did take it slow, but it's done now.

I have to say in explanation on why I just had to make this block that I have ALWAYS loved the card trick block since I first saw one, and for some reason, never made one.  With all the samplers I've done (at least 5 or 6) and all the quilts I've made, this block has never been in the repertoire.  Not only did I love the process (a bit fiddly, but doable), I love the outcome as well... A day well spent. (No, it didn't take me all day to make the block, but I was in meetings most of the day and only had so much time to sew between the meetings.)

Applause!

Okay, maybe Applause is a bit over the top, but that's what it feels like when someone says they absolutely love a quilt you made for them blindly.  Seth and James love their new quilt!  I am thrilled, and content.

I had surgery Tuesday the 19th, and have mostly been laid up recovering since then.  No sewing for me til last night.

I made block 16 of Pat Sloan's Childhood Games last night (easy block), and it almost wiped me out.  I'm done for a while.

I also finished Pat's May Rainbow Stay-at-home quiltalong earlier this week (before the surgery):

I love the border fabric, but not thrilled about it around the quilt... but I've got nothing else that will do, so I think I'll leave it... this will be a donation quilt and some child will love it as is.  I love rainbows, I loved making it, but I just don't need another lap quilt in the house.

I still can barely get up and down by myself, so I think I need some more recuperation time.  Back to bed I go...