Homes for Troops

Yesterday I spent some time with the folks from Homes for Troops. They are building a specially adapted house for an injured U.S. Army veteran. Since it was a major construction day there wasn't too much I could do to help but I plan on going back for the landscaping day...then at least I'd qualify as semi-skilled labor!

There were several of my quilt friends there so of course we decided we needed to make the family a quilt for their new home...finally something I can do!

Homes for Troops is a great organization. www.homesfortroops.org They have build over 100 adapted homes at no cost to the injured vet. Having an accessible home makes caring for the injured veteran easier for the family and returns dignity to the injured vet by allowing him or her to do more activities for themselves.

It was also wonderful to see all the volunteers out there for the construction days. Everyone from professional builders (the guys doing the tough work on the roof) to members of a local sorority that maned the sign-in and information booths to the vets that provided the BBQ lunch. Lots of soldiers from the local fort were on hand. It was interesting to hear their reflections on the project. Several of them commented they had traveled the same stretch of highway in Iraq where SFC Giddens had been injured by an IED.

Homes for Troops builds all across the country. (I think they have upcoming projects in Massachusetts and Utah.)

No longer a project...

Back in the late 90's how many of you started a Millennium quilt? How many of you finished it? Obviously by that question you know I didn't finish. This was to be the center...now it is headed to the orphan block pile along with 6 blocks of 25 2-1/2 inch squares. That is one way of moving a project off the UFO list!

My friend Maggie made this fun hat for me this Christmas

...finally it was cold enough early this morning to wear it. It has been so warm here the frogs had started coming out of hibernation and were croaking down by the river...that usually happens in March! (For a few weeks it can get really loud!)

My guild is starting its next donation quilt this month. The pattern is very unlike me...very bright batiks. As I write that I have to confess to a secret stash of bright batiks...I just don't use them often. Anyway, the "pattern" is based on an article in an old Quilter's Newsletter on doing a pieced group quilt. We need to find a multi-colored bright batik for the background...

I have 5 yards of this multi-colored rose fabric (makes me think of solar flares!) but the others in the committee want a black multi-colored batik...which would be nice if we could find it! If I don't find anything suitable at MJ's next week then I am going to make a strong case for the rose using a few blocks I made up just in case....

Yesterday I played with some left-over bits (1-1/2 inch finished blocks) to make a little quilt for my new doll bed. Beds look so lonely without a quilt.

It's a top!

Can you believe it...Orca Bay (or in my world Phynizy Swamp) is a quilt top! This is a first step finish in my book!

Now to find a back for it. Which means Road-trip! Next week I'm going up to Mary Jo's with some other quilters. Should be fun. I have a short list of things I need look for...mainly some backings, a border, and some wools. All good.

I went by my friend Ille's house this afternoon. This snowball quilt she is working on is wonderful! Love how she designed the center panel.

It has a lot of thread-painting on it.

We also looked at some of her vintage tops. She is thinking of selling this red and white Whigs Defeat top...

Now I have to spend some time putting up the fabrics I used for the Orca Bay and start to work on my next UFO...

or maybe play with the cat...cleaning is so overrated....

Little quilting...

Been a bit gimpy the last few days so not as much sewing going on as I'd like.

I did get my strawberry lemonade top put together...

The quilt inspector wasn't much help.

Seems there are others in line for the job...

only got one more border on my Orca Bay. It is a heavy quilt and after one border my arms needed a rest. Seems like smaller quilts will be on the agenda for a few weeks!

Poor Brownie had to go to the vets this morning. Her paw was bleeding last night and I was worried she had picked up a pin or something. There doesn't seem to be an injury but it is inflamed (as is her mouth this morning.) More steroids and antibiotics...Now I will be washing more fabric and the little quilt she laid on in this photo...

News Junkie Stitchin'

I confess to being a political news junkie...even when it is driving me crazy I will watch the debates, the pundits and the eventual election returns (doesn't matter which party is running.) How bad is it? Well when everyone else in line at the grocery store is stocking up on snacks for the football games my cart is packed with political debate snacks. (generally I try and buy things that will not hurt the TV is hurled at it from the couch....)

So as I can almost see South Carolina from the front of my house (ok I have to walk to the end of the street...) this has been a long week for us. On the other side I also plan some hand-sewing or quilting for this political extravaganza and have made good progress on some UFO's that needed binding and my Sprigs and Stars project. (My goal was 8 blocks a month and right now I have 10 finished for January!)

On the down side big projects like putting the borders on my Orca Bay mystery are harder to do while the TV is on. Also, it being a rainy day I can't lay the to out to pin the last two borders onto the quilt without danger of some muddy paw-prints crossing the quilt. (nice idea but not for this quilt!) It took a bit longer to make the borders than I expected.

When I laid out the blocks there were 6 missing. Of course I immediately blamed Brownie-the-block-thief and started searching all the usual places...found two under the couch. Decided it was easier to just remake the last four blocks...

Reading list and what-not

One of my sister's sent me a reading list for fans of Downton Abbey. Almost all of the books were nonfiction. Now I do like to read nonfiction but I think there are a lot of novels out there that can do an equally good job representing the time period.

For mysteries I like Anne Perry and Robin Paige. Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series includes lots of class struggles similar to the what we see on D.A. Paige's mysteries include some real-life characters and early "CSI" developments like photography and fingerprints. Both are great beach and airplane reading.

Do you have any recommendations for historical novels or mysteries set in the first quarter of the 20th century?

Back to quilts...can you believe someone found this quilt top in a dumpster?

That sort of thing never happens to me...

the fabrics in it are really interesting and once it got a good washing it is in great shape!

Home from retreat

Well I'm back from retreat...not sure what was the most fun-hours of uninterrupted sewing time in the "barn" or the Masterpiece theater pajama party (two episodes of season 2 of Downton Abbey and a Sherlock rerun) accompanied by good friends, chocolate wine and homemade German Chocolate cake.

There were lots of fun projects going on in the barn. I was happy to finish putting together the blocks of my Orca Bay Mystery quilt. Yikes....I have most the pieced borders together and should get this finished this week.

It was fun watching the changing design walls around the room....

This is a guild birthday quilt for Paula M. She obviously loves Christmas!

These scrappy arcs are part of wedding ring quilt being sewn by one of our members...love how these are coming together! (she got the leftover blocks from my Orca bay which were absorbed by this project!)

Now for a retreat recovery nap....