To-Do-List Tuesday 4-16-24

Nothing to report from last week as I didn't do a list, but it's a new week and time to get back on track. 

1) Finish the swap quilt I started quilting last week. I'm still struggling along on it, but I should be able to finish today.

2) Get a binding put on the swap quilt--if I can. I should have plenty of the backing fabric left that I can use for the binding.

3) Quilt three customer quilts--minimum.

4) Make 25 4" blocks for next week's workshop.

5) Make some potholders for the sampler store or the silent auction--it will be time for both before you know it, and I need to get some small things made. 

6) A Quilting Life BOM.

I also am working on unstitching a customer quilt that I wasn't happy with. I need to quit putting it off and just go ahead and get it done. After a short time of unstitching, my back and neck start start hurting, and I put it aside. I need to take some Tylenol and just power through it! 

There are volleyball and soccer games to attend this week, but those are in the evenings. Oh, and I bought some plants I need to get planted. There is always plenty to do this time of year. 

I am linking this post to Quilt Schmilt. I hope you all have a great week! 

Weekend Update

It was a good weekend! I worked in the shop Friday and Saturday and got some quilting (and binding) done. The quilting got done on this one, and then I sat down and got the binding sewn on.

I did cut the binding on the bias, and I’m happy with the way it looks. 

I forgot the name of the quilting design I used, but I think it was Precious Pearls. I was aiming for something that mimicked the designs in the fabrics. 

I said a long time ago I wouldn’t make any more bag quilts, but this top was made by someone else and I just had to quilt it.

So, never say never. She wanted a meander for the quilting design, so it stitched out pretty fast. Here’s what the final version looks like.

After all that, I still had some spare time so I loaded one of mine. 

This one had been hanging around probably around twenty years. It is made from blocks I swapped on one of the Yahoo groups. Back before Facebook, there were Yahoo groups for different interests including quilting. A couple of them involved lots of block swapping. Anyway, time to get it quilted. 

I noticed some stains on the side when I was rolling it. 

OMG. I will go ahead and get it quilted and bound, and then see if I can launder it and get the stain out. I’m not sure what it is, but it may be dog pee. I have fostered some male dogs over the years that had problems with marking. Of course, the goal is to train them not to mark in the house, but some have a hard time relearning the new behavior, and they can be quite sneaky about it. I will try some blue Dawn and see what happens. I used a colorful fabric for the back. 

On Friday evening , I went to the International Festival at the college.

https://youtu.be/A2w5KQX-43o

The link above has a short video of the event. There were 25 countries represented with food samples, native costumes, and some performances.

I thought I had more pictures, but I can’t find them. Oh well. It was fun.

I was planning to sew Sunday after church, but I took one look at the house and decided I had better vacuum, dust, and do laundry. Today I need to mop. I can’t seem to keep up with all the stuff that needs to be done around here.

Back to Work

I’m back in the groove—for the most part. There is a delay on getting my car back. I put it in the shop because I have a damaged spot on the back fender that needs to be repaired. I assume someone backed into my car in a parking lot. The tail light is also cracked. Anyway, the insurance company is making the body shop order used parts, and the ones they’re getting also have damage. The insurance company is providing me with a rental car, so I am okay, just impatient. 

I went to the grocery store to restock on milk and fresh produce.

This should get me through the week.

I worked on a baby quilt, but I got frustrated with the way it was quilting out, so I took it off the frame and started removing the stitches. Not my favorite activity, and I’m kicking myself because I had a feeling it wasn’t going to go well. I loaded another one and got the quilting started while I was ripping out the first one.

I have quilted several with these fabrics. It was apparently a popular line. I need to get the binding made so I can get it put on once the quilting is finished. She brought a piece of the green stripe she used on the border to make the binding with. I’ll need to do it on the bias to make it look right. 

I missed Zumba yesterday. I’m still tired, and I decided to sleep instead of exercising. I am going to make a better effort this morning to make it to exercise class. I have an appointment with the podiatrist at 8:30 so I will have just enough time to exercise and hopefully change clothes. 

Today would have been my dad’s 90th birthday. He passed away in January 2014, and I still miss him. He was both my dad and my best friend. We spent a lot of time together, and he taught me a lot. Mostly, he taught me not to doubt myself, and that I could do whatever I put my mind to. 

Back Home

I got back home late Monday night. It was so nice to sleep in my own bed and drink my own coffee in the mornings. I started to do a to-do list to post yesterday, but I was so tired, I couldn’t think straight. I did have a good time in Punta Cana. So where is Punta Cana? It’s actually in the Dominican Republic.

It’s a resort town on the eastern-most tip of the island.

I went with a friend who lost her husband about a year ago; we stayed in an all-inclusive resort, and there was plenty to do there, even though I didn’t want to do much of anything. The room was just okay, but the grounds were very nice.

The pools were large and not too crowded. 

The best thing was the beaches, which is what they are known for. 

I was looking through my camera roll, and I don’t think I have any photos that actually do it justice. The sand is white and soft, and the water is vivid turquoise. 

The food was so-so. Luckily I am not a picky eater, and can always find enough to fill up on.

I found I didn’t care for the meat dishes, but here I have some nice garlicky pasta with olives and sautéed veggies, and some bread with cold meats and cheeses. The meals were mainly buffet style, although one night we sprung for a dinner show. The entertainment was very good, and our main course was beef short rib with mashed carrots.

It was definitely better than the buffet, although there were several sushi courses that had a very strong taste. The dessert was good too, but I failed to take a picture. 

We did a couple of excursions. One was zip lining. 

There were 12 cables with courses ranging from 200’ to 2600’. 

It doesn’t look like I’m that high up because of all the vegetation, but it’s pretty high, and very exciting. 

We also did a “monkey adventure” which was very nice. The squirrel monkeys are native to Dominican Republic, and the habitat was very nice and clean.

This one was smiling!

You can’t take anything in because they are pickpockets, and you get sanitized before you can enter to prevent illness for the monkeys. They really were adorable. 

This one liked me. 

It was a long trip back. 

I was so happy to get back to the US. I’m glad I went, but we really are so blessed to have all we have in this country. I’m not telling anyone anything they don’t already know, but I know I take it for granted sometimes. 

I spent Tuesday trying to get my car back from the shop (which I didn’t; it’s still not ready), dropping off gifts, and picking up dogs. As much as I enjoyed sleeping in my own bed, I wasn’t the only one. Ryder went straight to his bed when I brought him home.

I think we are back to normal for a while.

To-Do-List Tuesday 4-2-24

Happy Tuesday and Happy Birthday to me! This should be short and sweet today. I am leaving town this afternoon and will be gone for a week. I am travelling to Punta Cana with a friend who is also recently widowed. I have never been there and am not sure what to expect, but I have to say a vacation will be nice. 

I am posting today to document my progress from the last week, but there won't be a to-do list for the next week.

1) Quilt three customer quilts. I only got two done. 

2) Finish the March BOM from A Quilting Life. Yes. 

3) Bind two quilts. I only did one, but it was a biggie. 

4) Work on embroidered tea towels. I got a start on it, but I didn't do much. Oh well. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and make good progress on your goals. I am linking my post to Quilt Schmilt. 

I will be out of touch for a week, so I won't be able to reply to comments while I'm gone. I'll be in touch when I get back. 

Happy Easter

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! I’m off to church later and then lunch with the family. 

Two Big Quilts

I finally got the binding finished on Gloria’s memory quilt. I love the way it turned out. 

She had brought all of his clothing and I removed the name patch from a pair of his work coveralls and stitched it to the bottom corner. I used a fleece Texans blanket on the middle of the back. 

It was a little tricky, but I’m happy with it, and I really hope she will be too. It’s a large queen, around 92” x 93”. She should be picking it up today.

I was asked to quilt the raffle quilt for our WELCA group at church. It’s even a little bigger than the memory quilt.

Here’s a closeup of the quilting:

I don’t know if you can tell, but it’s not pieced; it’s a printed panel, aka a cheater print. One of the other ladies is going to bind it, so my part is finished.

Someone showed this quilt at our guild meeting Thursday:

She said she found the pattern on YouTube at Tiffany’s Quilting Life. I like it a lot. This one is going on my list of projects I want to make. I think I will try it with a colored background. 

Tomorrow is Easter, and I need to finish the grandkid’s Easter baskets. I’ll get it done in time. I’m looking forward to church service and then dinner with the family. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!