Where did the summer go?

Me trying to not wheeze because of all of the smoke

It is amazing that three months have gone by in a blink of an eye. Summer is at an end and thankfully, we have begun to receive well-needed rain in Oregon. It has been so dry and the fires have really been bad. We were at a Level 1 evacuation level for two weeks and it was a long two weeks. When you are told to get ready to evacuate and you look around your home at what has taken you a lifetime to accumulate, it is an emotional experience. We gathered pictures, papers, quilts, and short-term clothing and stacked them by the door. I took pictures of everything inside of closets and rooms so that I would have something to see to remind me of items just in case. We were lucky because we didn't have to leave. Others were not as lucky and were homeless for many weeks and some lost their homes even through the heroic efforts of the men and women firefighters working endlessly trying to contain the fire and save as much as they could.

I have been trying so hard to catch up on some long overdo projects. 2017 has been a wonderful year with working on the World Quilting Travel Adventure but it did consume a lot of time in designing and creating the souvenirs and writing patterns and instructions. I realized that I was not getting any closer to finishing older projects. So after designing Australia, I stopped and finished piecing my Christmas quilt. The top is now done and is resting on the second bed waiting its turn to be quilted.

Next I pulled out The Lady that really has languished for years with its top being done but me not feeling up to the level to quilt it myself. I realized that I may never feel comfortable in quilting her so I bit the bullet and have been quilting her. It's been hard and I don't feel like I am getting anywhere near close to being finished, but I am plugging away at her.

Quilting on The Lady's hair

To give myself a break on quilting, I have been making a toothbrush rug for my kitchen. It is a perfect mindless activity after machine quilting for too long. So far, it is about 27 inches in diameter and I hope to finish it at least 45 to 60 inches in diameter.

Toothbrush rug in progress

My finished Israel souvenir was accepted in a local quilt show. I look forward to seeing it hanging next weekend. I was so nervous on whether it would be accepted. Isn't that silly? In the big scheme of life, that is really not even on a measurable level.

Other projects on my to-do list is to make a baby quilt for a neighbor's daughter who is expecting next year. She is such a sweetie and I so rarely get to do baby things. And speaking of baby things! I learned of an organization that makes NICU-friendly diaper shirts for babies, no matter how small! I immediately offered my sewing services and have my flannel all washed and prepped. I still need to locate a special soft Velcro and then I can start cutting and sewing. When you see how small the pattern is for a 1 pound or less infant, it is difficult to wrap your brain around a baby being that tiny. I received 7 patterns for babies from 1 pound to 7 pounds, 8 ounces and you get to choose the ones you want to make. If you are interested in using up a little of your cotton and flannel, please go to Twenty-Five and Four to learn more. I'm thinking this would make a great reason to gather several friends together for an afternoon party of sewing and fellowship while sewing these tiny shirts for such precious babies.

And before you think we have stopped travelling, we have not. Just taken a pause. I assure you that all this activity has not stopped me from contemplating Australia's souvenir and the different techniques to use for it. Honestly, I have gone from one end to another and still have not nailed down which techniques to use. It may end up an everything including the kitchen sink souvenir! The cooler weather is spurring me on to a decision and then I will start transferring the design to templates. I have my fabric chosen so at least that part is decided.

And as a famous person once said, "give your loved ones a daily hug and never let the sun go down with sourness on your lips. It'll leak out of other body parts!"  LOL

Australia Bound in my mind

It is halt time on my Israel souvenir. I've finished it except for the facing. I'm not happy with the sampling I've done for nice, sharp corners for facings so until I can figure it out, I must move on. A traditional binding just isn't going to do it for this one.

I've been drawing and drawing and drawing and erasing, removing and redoing Australia until I think I've nearly got it where I want it. Now, the hardest part is to print my drawing life size and see if what I've drawn is going to work, what needs refinement, enlarging, reducing, or removing. It's the part that shows me what is and isn't going to work. I sure hope everything works on this one because I'm really loving how it looks in print. On this souvenir, I'm throwing in everything including the kitchen sink! There will be a lot of painting, applique, and lots of hand embroidery embellishment. I spied a new-to-me cotton fabric that you must get some if you haven't already done so. It is going to be perfect for Australia because you only need small pieces so buying a 10 inch square package that includes all of the colors will do the trick. It's made by Maywood Studio and is called Glitz. It's 100 percent cotton with a foil face. It's incredibly luscious in rich, wonderful colors.

I so want to share my conceptual drawing with you, but until I know whether it is doable, I think I'd better wait. Thank you for continuing to travel with me!

Are you enjoying our travels? Australia anyone?

These past many months, we have really racked up the airline miles with our World Quilting Travel Adventure. We have visited Oregon, Hawaii, Canada, England, and Israel and had absolutely no jet lag whatsoever!

I've had a great time designing and creating each of the souvenirs for you. Sadly, I've heard from only a few of the 28 original folks who signed on to travel with me, but I am happy that a few of you continue to let me know that you are making the souvenirs and are enjoying our visits throughout the world. I  may cut our travels short but for now, I am planning to continue our journey as planned.

I'm on the homestretch of machine quilting my Israel souvenir. I always underestimate just how long it takes me to machine quilt. I did finish quilting the hoopoe yesterday but it took me days to do him. Yep, I'm definitely a turtle quilter. I have the branch left to quilt and then I'm ready to square it up and put the facing on. This one will not have a traditional binding because I don't want the binding to detract from the piece.

However, I have been thinking about our next destination and ideas have been bouncing around in my head like crazy. I have to make myself stop thinking about it or I would never finish this souvenir! When you get close to finishing a project, does your mind start to drift onto the next project before it should? Come on....I can't be the only one....can I?

It will be a while before you get to see anything or receive the pattern, but I've decided that we must ALL go to Australia! This country is so diverse that it was hard for me to narrow down just one area to study, but I found it and you are going to love, love, love it or let's be Australian and say this next souvenir is going to be fully sick! LOL I am loving learning some Australian English Phrases.

Let's go sew!