Catch Up of Other Activities!

I went to the Strong Tower Gaming Convention this year.  It was super fun.  I stayed in the hotel with Ashley and Miranda.  I was super tired by Sunday, but really enjoyed the experience!

I attended my either online Zoom Retreat with the Booktube Besties.  It is more fun every time!  So nice now that my entire book club (created several retreats ago from retreat people) also was there and we all chat on the side and really have a blast!

I also really wanted to see VE Schwab so I bought a ticket to see her online.  She was promoting her book Victorious (which I bought but have not started yet).  She was every bit as amazing in person as she is on youtube and in her newsletters.  

I attended a lecture about Willa Cather online and they since I was on a roll one put on by the Cozy Reader Book Club with Nina LaCour.

She wrote these two books which I loved!

                                        

Really enjoyed her talk too and will be reading her future books!

Bumpa and I went to the grandparents' breakfast at the girls' school again.  They are growing so fast!  Nice to see the new building and classroom and meet their teachers!

A few days ago Kathy, Hannah and I went to see Alice Austen at the Civic Theater for Waukesha Reads.

She was a really interesting speaker who has lived quite the life!  Will be reading and watching her work--she is brilliant!

Here is Hannah getting her books signed.  

and here is my book!  33 Place Brugmann was 5 star and I already want to read it again!  This is our second time participating in Waukesha Reads (last year was The Seed Keeper which I apparently did not post about so will do so now!).

For 2025, Kathy and I went to see Diane Wilson talk about "The Seed Keeper."  This book was also five star!  Hannah was out of town so she was not with us.  Hopefully though it will now be an annual event and one day the girls will come too!

                                        

My Birthday!

For my birthday Kathy got me flowers and a game I really wanted (and am still waiting for) called Eternal Decks.  She also watched the girls so Hannah and Jeremy and I could go to Beyond the Board and play games again.  

First we played Fort!  We loved it so much I bought it the next day at Noble Knights (and the kids bought one for my birthday and had to keep it too!).  Taught it to Kathy later and she likes it too!

After that we played Ra.  I liked this one though I do not think it could be played solo.  They did not like it as much either.      Next we played Hooky.  It is a deductive game which I normally really like, but this one was just okay for me.  Crossed it off my want to buy list.
                                        

Lastly, we played Hot Streak.  This is a fun racing game.  They added it to Hazel's gift list so I think we will be playing more of this in the future. It was fun!  The day flew by and we went and grabbed dinner at Mom's Restaurant which took way longer than it should have.  We brought dinner home for the kids and sushi for Kathy.  It was a really nice birthday!
                                         

Sewing Catch Up and a New Kitty Cat!

Our Singer Kitty cat passed away several months ago and Kathy really missed having her kitty (previously she was only a dog person) so we found Gem Bonnie at the local humane society (she is six) and brought her home.  She has adjusted really well and is only not too sure of Lady.  She is great with the girls which was what we wanted.

This is Stash kitty.  She seems to be aging rapidly now that Singer is gone.  We have been spoiling her and enjoying every minute of her sudden need to be on top of us until she is gone.

I got back Merry Mayhem #149 from Lora (she quilted it to look like spilt paint) and got it bound on Maker Monday.  One of my booktubers does a once a month Zoom get together where we work on crafts together.  Super fun!  I also worked on my butterfly RSC blocks.

Hannah, Hazel and I went to see a production of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka Jr.  We all really enjoyed it!  

I forgot to show my quilted Grim Ripper (I made two of them) after I quilted them.  Pretty happy with how they came out!

July came fast and another Leaders and Enders.  I barely did anything with last year's plan so I put these together to just move on.  I really have not been sewing much, but hopefully once the Quiltville mystery starts and winter rolls in I will!

 I was excited to find all this thread and some Moana fabric at Goodwill the other day.  I have found other fabrics here and there too.  I love a good deal!

Summer Sewing!

I have not been sewing too much this summer.  Playing lots of games and reading lots of books instead.  Barb keeps on trying to get me in the sewing room and thankfully she was successful a few times!  I sewed up these easy hand warmers to give to Kathy at Christmas time (and who knows who else).  I made some when we were in Arizona and sent them all back here, but we did not need any at the time.

I have had this Grim Ripper pattern for forever and have wanted to make one.  Barb had made it previously for a small quilt auction and wanted one for herself.  So we sewed together and whipped them up.  I decided to make a second one most likely to gift to my longarmer at Christmas time.  I gave her a 3D printed business card holder sewing machine and she loved it.  These still need quilting, I did get them backed and ready to go.  I think I will echo quilt them.

I found a free pattern for this Pride flag and decided I needed to make it too.  Love how it came out, still needs quilting.

Lora got this one done and I picked it up a few weeks ago.  Managed to get it bound in scrappy colors.  Think I am keeping this one, it has found its way onto the back of our living room chair.  This was a Quiltville Log Cabin quilt that I did for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge I made in 2022!  It is so nice to be getting some of these tops done that have been sitting around waiting!  

 

Emerald Jubilee is Coming Together and RSC from 2015!

You may remember a few years ago I completed Ruby Jubilee from Quiltmaker Magazine that year in red.  Becky and Bonnie did it in purple.  I copied Bonnie's fill ins for the white spaces as best I could.  My friend Barb made those same blocks in green and gifted them to me instead of completing the top.  Here and there I have gotten it out and worked on strings or figuring out what I needed to make to complete it.  I finally started putting it together last week.  Here is the first section.

Here is the second section attached.  

The third section was a bit of a nightmare.  There were more missing parts and not enough room in my sewing room to spread them out and figure things out.  I finally hauled it out to the living room and my gaming table and laid it out.

You can see there are lots of missing parts!

A few days later and the whole top (sans borders) is together!  We happened to have one nice weather day which coincided with this top coming together so I ran outside and took some pictures.

It still needs half square triangles around the outside and a string border when I get back to it.  I am thinking the pair of quilts will be for Hazel and Indie after they are quilted.  They can tuck them away for someday.

I went to Lora's and picked up my three baby quilts that she quilted for me (and dropped off a Bonnie quilt too).  These were rainbow scrap challenge quilt blocks from ???  I thought they were from 2015, but I completed that top already so must be from another year.  I had to do some serious searching to find out.  The link above is to the patterns and plan that Angela of SoScrappy who hosts the RSC put together.  Huge shout out to her for doing this for over a decade and inspiring so many amazing rainbow quilts.  It is one of my favorite projects that I return to over and over again.  This year I inspired my friend Barb (no blog) to make a rainbow quilt each month too!  She is doing the same block as me but many more of them as she wants a giant quilt in the end.  I am thinking I want two smaller ones for the grands.  Mine will have more white space while hers will be full butterflies.

This one is Bonnie's Princess Crown quilt.  I got all three of these bound one day last week.  

Lora did a spectacular job (as always) quilting them with I love you hands which is my go to favorite pattern!
                
I bought three backings on sale/clearance from Missouri Star a month or so ago.  The middle one is at the longarmer now with Old Town from 2024.  That reminds me I need to update my Quiltville Parade of Quilts page as I am a few years behind!

Last week I also got motivated and did some reorganizing and folding of my fabric.  My shelf is looking a lot neater now!

 

February Sewing So Far!

My Lupine and Laughter quilt top is a flimsy.  I like how this one turned out in my colors.  Different from any others I have done for sure.  

I decided since I made Hazel an H is for Happy doll quilt that I should make an I one for Indigo.  I had to "design" the I myself and it is not quite as good as the H's, but it works.  I do love how the quilting came out and I did that myself too.  Since I was gifting it to Indie for Valentine's Day I decided I better make something for Hazel too.  She gets a little tooth fairy pillow.  She loved it.

Then yesterday I decided to whip up some Frozen sleeping bags to put on the Frozen beds that Kathy 3D printed for them a few weeks ago.  Cannot wait for them to see them tomorrow.  I made mini Olaf pillows too, but not picture yet.

Speaking of 3D printing--Kathy has been making me game inserts like they are going out of style!  I had her make me this cool phone holder for my sewing room too.  

My other favorite thing she has printed me is this!  I update how many books I read whenever I remember.  I am at 22 now so need to get in there and update it!

                                    

I finally tied and bound the most recent Eye Spy baby quilt too.

I decided to make Hope Takes Flight 

for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt for 2026.  Mine may be all butterflies and not so much background, or I may wind up with two of them....no idea yet.  I had a batik charm pack so I started with that and then just added from my batiks.  I have not used them in forever and was contemplating getting rid of them.  Linking up with Angela at SoScrappy.

Attic Stars (Debbie Montgomery quilt from 2021) is finally quilting by Lora and bound by me.  This will be for Kathy's niece Megan and her soon to be new hubby Christopher for their wedding in September.  

Krista (one of my booktubers) has started doing a once a month "Maker Monday" where we get together on the computer and do something crafty while we gab.  I whipped up an entire knitted washcloth last Monday.  Hopefully I will continue to do this each month as they make good gifts!