All Up To Here!

It's amazing what a couple of hours in the evening can add up to.

It started out as just "hours on a plane" or "traveling by bus" on international trips.

And it was barely touched at all during the time of COVID where it sat in my travel bag waiting for me to get back to it again...some day.

Some day did happen and I was off and traveling with it again.  To my mom's place.  To my dad's. World wide destinations.  It was the perfect thing. 

Small pieces of fabric. Hexagon papers. Thread, needle threader, needles, a couple wonder-clips - it all fits easy in a go-bag.

And then there was the whole thing with Jason's brain tumor and not knowing how to navigate through all of that, yet knowing I needed something for my hands or I would just go crazy.

Then something happens when I reach the half-way point.  It's all free-wheeling from here on down, baby!

The hexies became the perfect stitch-while-watching-tv thing in my evenings and every day I really started looking forward to my slow stitching time after dinner.

No machine noise.  No ironing required. And since I didn't have anything in the hand quilting queue, this was perfect.

And here I am somewhere I had only envisioned for my future...smack dab in the middle of putting the past two borders on!

With Tula Tallulah Lou in the middle!

Oh, you sweet thing.

It's going to take a while to get these borders attached. I'm okay with that, but I am dreaming up what I want to do next...and it needs to be somewhat ready before I leave for India in September. That's coming awful quickly!

The plan for this current one is to MACHINE QUILT IT. I don't think I have it in me to hand quilt another hexie. 

I'll choose something sweet, and then trim the edges after quilting and put a traditional binding on it. Hand quilting would take me an additional 6 months to a year. I'm just not feeling it. I want to move on from this one.

Okay - this is completely random, but it's another one of those "life hacks" that has changed things for me.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about how I hate that pump bottles can't get all of the lotion/shampoo/conditioner/whatever out of the bottle and it is a pain.

I posted about how I use an old dish soap lid on my bottle to keep it upside down to get every last bit of it out.

That has worked really well, but this past week I was shopping and I spied the new upside-down Dawn at the store.  I looked at that cap and thought "Will THIS fit my lotion bottle so I don't have to prop it up against the wall!?"

Yes. I bought this Dawn for the cap.  But also because it is green apple.

Tada!

Old dish soap lid on the Dawn (for now) and the new Dawn cap fits my lotion bottle minus the pump and it will stand on its own on the bathroom counter, helping me to get every last drop.

Yes, I know you can buy "flip caps" but that's like $20.00 for little plastic pieces that do this same thing. And I like this better.

I'll be saving this stand up cap for future lotion adventures. I just thought someone might be interested in the real life things that happen here.

The lotion does dispense a bit more slowly, but I'm okay with that. I'm less likely to squeeze out too much.

And guess what time it is?

It's time to draw for the winners in our Hello, Gretchen! Gift-Away!

2 winners will each receive a Hello, Gretchen! PDF pattern from me and:

A Notable Neutrals fabric roll from  Cotton to Quilts!

We had 3,495 entries! WOW!

Entry 2416 is:

Claudia Goebl!

And entry 379 is:

Jan Hunter!

Congrats, ladies!  Please check your email inboxes for an email from me with your pattern attached.  

Reply to that email with your mailing address and I'll have the folks at  Cotton to Quilts get your fabric prizes out to you.

Intro Pricing:  I've placed the Hello, Gretchen! PDF pattern at 25% off - no coupon needed - through TOMORROW 7/31/26. Discount applied at checkout.

If this is your first time downloading digital patterns from my store to a computer click HERE.

If you intend to download to an iPhone/iPad click HERE.

Especially designed for paper piecing, Hello, Gretchen! is the perfect quilt to turn your saved bits into sparkling beauty! Full color photos, diagrams, step by step instruction and printable foundations included. Strings and scraps at their best!

Quilt Size: 84'' X 84''

*This pattern assumes the maker has at least a basic knowledge and some experience with foundation paper piecing by machine.

A reminder to EVERYONE to not use auto-fill (The prompt that puts in your name, mailing address, phone number, everything with a click.)

As this is a PDF pattern, no mailing address is necessary. Place the item in your cart, then go to the cart page to check out by entering your name and email address manually. I don't know why it works this way, but it does.

If there is an issue with your computer - it could be YOUR OWN browser/security settings. Browser extensions preventing pop-ups can also be an issue. Try using *Incognito mode* to see if the problem persists. Try a different browser, Or order on your phone or tablet, then go to your computer for the download email.

Your VPN or Adblocker can also cause problems when placing an order.

Thanks so much, everyone for participating.  I'm really excited to see your progress on this one. Keep sharing your creativity!

A couple of retreats ago the air coming out of the Mitsubishi split unit in the Quilting Quarters felt like it was putting out room temperature air, not cool air.

Turns out that unit had given up the ghost and needs to be replaced. They wouldn't be able to install for a couple of weeks.

We purchased an interim room air conditioner that stands on the floor and vents out the window to try to keep the room cool.

Our guys will be back this coming Tuesday to replace the old unit.

In the meantime it's the portable air conditioner, and some fans blowing the cooler air to the other side of the room.

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

 
Luckily, this week - temps are in the '70s!

As I always remember to say:

 
You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.

Have a terrific Thursday, everyone -