Monday, September 28, 2026

Sashed Sixteen Patch Finish

It's a finish!!
Sashed Sixteen Patch
57 x 67.5


This is one of four quilts I started in July 2023 after receiving baggies of 2 inch squares from a couple of folks. Plus I already had a baggie of my own. 

At the time I assembled this top most of my stash was scraps (pretty much still is) but someone had recently given me the lime green yardage so decided to see if there was enough of that. Well, there wasn't quite enough - I used it in the nine patch cornerstones but didn't have enough lime for the nine patch corner stones in the sashings around the outside edges. 

I'm not really a fan of lime green; however, I have to say that I think it spices up a quilt of mostly older floral squares. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. 

I put on a scrappy binding from leftover binding pieces given to me.  I just sewed a bunch of pieces together so it looked like I had enough to go round. Strangely enough I had EXACTLY the right amount of binding for the second time this month. I had to add a little piece to the backing. 

Someone gave me that wild and crazy backing piece a long time ago and I set it aside for this quilt.  Not sure why. Maybe because it has a little lime green in it? 

And sew on...

***
I've finished three books in the last few weeks.

1.
The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer. A historical fiction novel inspired by Operation Paperclip. 

"Operation Paperclip was a secret U.S. program that recruited over 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians after World War II to advance American military, space, and intelligence capabilities."

2.
The Irish Daughter of New York by Kate Hewitt. Historical fiction. First of the Maggie O'Halloran series. 

"Kate Hewitt’s The Irish Daughter of New York (published March 31, 2026) introduces Maggie O’Halloran, an Irish teenager arriving in New York City in 1891 with her younger brother. Expecting to reunite with their father, they instead find themselves alone, penniless, and forced to navigate the harsh realities of the Lower East Side."

3.
7 Days by Mike Kraus.  Book 3 in the disaster/post-apoc thriller trilogy. Well, that's the end of that series. Not sure I like how it ended and not sure what caused the disaster; however, I must say if there ever is a disaster that changes our world as we know it there's a lot of good survival tips in the book.


Sunday, September 27, 2026

Friday, September 25, 2026

HST Four Patch Finish

It's a finish!
HST Four Patch
50 x 70


I can't find a photo of the 2024 flimsy but I do see a post where I was making blocks in 2024.  It is one of many quilts I was working on to empty a box of 3 inch width scraps that is still not empty. 


I quilted it on my sewing machine with horizonal and vertical lines. 

It has a scrappy binding...

...and a wild and crazy backing. 

And sew on...

***
Polymyalgia Rheumatica. I'd never heard of it until Tuesday after a call from the doc office.  I've had neck pain since end of July that started as a burning sensation then developed into pain so severe I could hardly move my head. I did some neck exercises and massager. I put on ice bag. I put on icy hot. I took tylenol. Pain was worse when I got up in morning and I had a difficult time sleeping. I thought it was stress related.  Pain moved to upper legs. I could hardly get out of bed, sleep, brush hair, etc.  Sometimes I felt tingling on my scalp and feet. It was hard to tell if it was joint, muscle or never pain. And finally the pain spread to upper arms. Again, pain was most severe when trying to sleep and when I got up in morning. After a few hours pain lessened.  

Finally I called doc office on Monday and got in an hour later. Xrays showed a little degenerative disease disorder on C6-7 but doc said that shouldn't be causing all that pain. They drew blood for lab tests. On Tuesday nurse called to say my ESR, an inflammation marker, was very high. ESR is a marker of inflammation; however, it is not specific as to what causes inflammation. Doc thought Polymyalgia Rheumatica and prescribed prednisone for a week as well as physical therapy. I'm to call doc back on Monday to let them know how well prednisone worked. If it doesn't nurse said I would be referred to rheumatology.  I'm glad to say that after 4 prednisone pills I'm feeling pretty good. I'll report that to doc on Monday. I started PT on Wednesday, the same day I started the predisone.  I have also looked into foods to eat for an anti-inflammatory diet. Actually, it looks like I pretty much already have a diet like the ones I've seen - Mediterranean and DASH. 

The rain finally stopped and I was able to go out and do a little gardening yesterday. If it hadn't been raining the last week or so I might have been out gardening and attributed  the leg pain when it started to over doing it out in the garden. 

So, sorry if I haven't answered all comments lately. I just haven't felt much like sitting at the computer for very long. 



 

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

The Green Contessa Finish


It's a finish!
Green Contessa
40 x 60



I made the complete block set back in July 2025 and put them in my SAR (Some Assembly Required) bin. At that time, I also made blocks for a blue version as well as a pink version. I wanted to use up scraps that accumulated in the 2.5 inch width box. 

(It is actually what I call a Basket Weave pattern).

BUT
I didn't use a jellyroll. 
I didn't make as many blocks.
I didn't make stripsets of 5 WOF strips (because I didn't have that many). Instead I made 4 strip sets of 3 or 4 strips and then cut them into the 6.5 inch sections and added  2.5 x 6.5 inch rectangle(s) (from 2.5 inch width scrap bin) to the ends of each section. 


This month I assembled the top and quilted it on my sewing machine with vertical and horizontal lines. 


The back and binding. 

Now it's ready to go hug a wee one. 

And sew on...

 

Monday, September 21, 2026

Hollow Nine Patch Finish

It's a finish!
Hollow Nine Patch
52.5 x 73.5

Made with 4 inch squares, blocks finish at 10.5 inches. 


Quilted on my sewing machine with horizontal and vertical lines.

I recently received some binding pieces. There wasn't quite enough of the diagonal stripe for this quilt but there was a similar stripey piece in the box so I added in that one for a scrappy binding.


And the back is red.

And sew on...


***
Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day. Little Cathy needs to get outside and finish up some gardening tasks!  It's been raining here every day for over a week. 

***

Oh joy! I mentioned I received some binding pieces lately. The box from Elle also contained some strings, some granny floral strips and a few pieces of the rainbow.

***
I haven't yet mentioned the books I've recently finished:

The Castle in the Glen by Rhys Bowen. "A ghostwriter plunges into danger as she unravels the dark secrets of a powerful Scottish family in a thrilling novel of romance and mystery "  - Amazon.  I've read several other books by Rhys Bowen. 

Once We Were Sisters by Ann Bennett. "Totally heartbreaking and page-turning World War II historical fiction".  I've read several other books by Ann Bennett. 

Books 4-6 of 38 of the Clint Wolf Mystery Series by BJ Bourg. But Not Forever, But Not For Naught, But Not Forbidden.  And on to the next in the series!


Sunday, September 20, 2026

This Week's Hats

This week's hats. 
For Christmas project for children on Rosebud reservation.




 

Saturday, September 19, 2026

Cheerios Finish

It's a finish!
Cheerios - Orange and Yellow Version
40 x 60


In late 2025 I sorted the blocks into 4 piles for comfort quilts - 3 small ones and one larger one.

I quilted it with horizontal and vertical lines on my sewing machine.

The backing and binding.

The other Cheerios quilts:



The larger complete block set with pink, purple, blue blocks is in the SAR (Some Assembly Required) bin.


Purple is the color of the month but I've been in quilting mode lately so maybe by month end I will do a little purple piecing.