Heart panel

A while ago, the urologist picked up a groin hernia on hubby and referred him to a surgeon.  He noticed another one on the other side.  The surgeon booked a theatre and gave hubby the choice of which of two dates he wanted it done.  Preferring to do it ASAP, he chose to have this done next Tuesday.  He will have to stay over in hospital for one night and then, for 6 weeks afterwards, no heavy lifting.  The latter part will be a nightmare for both of us.

Hubby is extremely active and constantly busy with something.  If not gardening, he’ll repair, build, maintain or clean something outside.  I appreciate this.  On rainy days, when he can't go outside, I am miserable.  He stays inside, and I suppose he feels he has to help me, and I really, really dislike this.  For years, with him working 6am to 6pm, the house was my territory and mine alone.  I had no help cleaning or cooking, and suddenly having a second body around feels more like a burden than help. Oh, yes, I would love him taking over the cooking, but then he should clean up afterwards, and his idea of clean and mine are not compatible.

I am looking forward to Tuesday when he gets admitted.  The hospital has a restaurant on the ground floor, and I have every intention to eat there and not cook for myself.  I am not a big eater, and having to constantly make something for a three-meals-a-day eater gets to me.  Not as much making the food, but the thought of what to make for the next meal.

Usually when I think I’ve planned something to perfection, it never works out, so I might just end up making a sandwich for myself.  Then, I can’t see at night.  With it being winter in South Africa, it becomes dark early, and I will have to visit him in the evening.  Hopefully I’ll be able to at least see my way home.  Luckily, the hospital is really close.

This pretty panel quilt was the last of 4 received from an out-of-town quilter. Not having opened the bag containing this one beforehand, I was so pleased; even though tired of quilting most every day, I looked forward to doing this.

I am up to date with all the quilts I had, with one booked towards the end of August and another somewhere in November.  I can now use this extra time to continue cleaning out cupboards.  I have a new way of thinking.  When opening a cupboard, I ask myself whether I would like to take the contents with me should I ever move again.  Those things I don’t want to pack and take along get thrown out.

Autumn bricks

I didn’t plan to quilt on Sunday as I invited the kids for supper.  I made lamb liver cakes (similar to fish cakes but with ground liver) served with mashed potatoes and caramelised onions. My kids still enjoy traditional South African dishes, and I love making them for them, as very few youngsters nowadays grow up with or appreciate them.  Not as if my kids are ‘youngsters’ anymore. Occasionally, when they have birthdays, and I realise their age, I actually feel sorry for them for being that old.

On Monday, National Women’s Day, as I started gathering ingredients for supper, hubby said I should not cook, as we have several plates of leftover food in the fridge and we should finish that first.  Music to my ears!

The weather bureau warned about a sudden severe cold front from Monday with wind, rain, hail and snow, but when we got up, apart from being cloudy, nothing much of the forecast was seen.  I just finished cleaning the house when it started to rain.  By then, the wind had also gathered speed; soon afterwards the hail started.  It was bitterly cold!

Not able to work outside on the paving, hubby brought in wood and started an indoor fire in what is supposed to be the indoor barbecue.  He, however, is not much of a barbecue man, so it mostly serves as a fireplace.  Many moons ago, he promised to start cooking once retired, but 5 years in, I had no such luck.

With the ambience from the fire, I didn’t feel like doing anything chore-related, and we settled by the TV and watched no less than 2 movies.  I took a mean afternoon nap under a thick, warm blanket, and for once I enjoyed National Women’s Day.

With me having plenty of R&R on Monday, it was back to normal yesterday.  I got to finish this one.

Not all quilters name or label their quilts, and then I try to come up with a name, just not to start every post with “another quilt”.  This is exactly what happened here.

Second owl quilt

 I got this loaded right after I finished the first but had some grocery shopping to do and only started the actual quilting later in the day.  Being for one of a twin, the same edge-to-edge motif was used.

When I opened this and saw the blue background, I wondered if I had the sexes right.  I initially believed the red was for the boy and the other one (whilst still in the package) would be for the girl.  Now I am not that sure anymore.  It is, however, nice to see how different the same main fabric turns out when used with different colours.

I managed to finish this one too.  

I made hake with a creamed mushroom sauce for supper yesterday, and the smell had me hungry from the time I finished cooking.  I always had a soft spot for any fish dish.

First owl quilt for one of a twin

Friday turned out to be a rather normal day as per daily routine, and I appreciated it.  I did some quilting but didn’t push myself, did laundry, ironing, lunch and supper and watched rugby on TV.

This grandma made two of these owl quilts for her twin grandbabies, who are turning two in March 2027.  That I call organised!

I started with the red owl quilt for no particular reason; it was just on top of her package, and since it was for toddlers, we needed nothing more than an edge-to-edge design.  She wanted the same motif on both quilts, so not too girly or boyish, as the second quilt will be for the little girl.

I woke up on Saturday morning and started quilting before I even showered or got dressed, but managed to finish this one before 8 am.  A productive start to the day!

Terrace tiles quilt

This is only one version of a quilt going by this name and from out of town.  This quilter used to be local but, after retiring, moved away.

Yesterday I had this quilt on the frame after the interlocking squares, and hopefully this won’t take 14 days to complete.  I took out frozen soup, which we enjoyed with cheese buns and for the little one, I made pizza for lunch.

The quilt maker purchased a fleece blanket with the size noted on the tag, but when I measured it, one side was not remotely as long as the tag said.  I will barely have enough space on the sides, but luckily this won’t need any ruler work.  I might just get this to work.

It turned out to be a productive quilting day as I finished this before we had to fetch the little one after school.  I still have 3 quilts in my house and 3 more on my waiting list.

House hen is losing her feathers. Whenever I took a break from quilting, I walked into a scene like this.  It feels as if I am constantly bending over to pick up either the feathers or their poo.

Hubby is fixing and levelling the paving around the swimming pool and has selected an intricate brick pattern, having to grind through them to get them to the size he needs.  I can already see all the dust gathering in every nook and cranny.  Looking at his pattern, I think he should really consider quilting.

Almost interlocking squares

 We had a hectic two weeks; everything that could happen, happened. Our plans collided with others; appointments overlapped; I had more-than-normal social events; and it felt like nothing got done.

When we moved into this house 4 years ago, the layout was everything I wanted: enough bedrooms, enough open space for the grandkids to go bonkers and the private spaces separate from the living areas.  During the first winter, though, we felt the living areas were as cold as a freezer.  I am not the toughest cookie when cold.  This year I even decided not to watch TV in the lounge at night but to get into bed on the electric blanket and enjoy the TV in the bedroom.

We had 4 humongous palm trees by the swimming pool.  Soon after moving in, hubby chopped down one.  I cannot recall the reason for this one being chopped down.  Still 3 by the pool left, and I think a cold person gets colder when older, as we really did not have a harsh winter this year, but I am struggling more.  I layer so badly, I can barely bend my elbows to work.

I made a sudden decision: the remaining palm trees had to go; they block most of the light and sun from the house, and something needed to be done to improve the situation.  Made the call, and the tree fellers quoted one day, started chopping and finishing the next.  Shame, they really worked tirelessly, and I am glad I got them to do it, instead of hubby, which would take him months.  When I decided to get them, hubby added to the list of trees to be chopped or trimmed, and since moving in, we’ve now chopped about 23 trees in this garden.

 The palms around the pool gave the look of an island resort, but I prefer comfort before beauty.  We definitely have more natural light, although I cannot say the heat has improved.  I will have to find new ideas without using electricity, as this has become a luxury in South Africa.

In between the chaos of life and the trees, I received this queen-sized quilt from out of town, and it took me 14 days to complete.  I just didn’t get time to quilt.  I forced myself to at least do one of the 56 blocks a day; if I managed more, all good, but one a day meant progress.

With the blocks done, I started with the sashing and again hoped to do one row a day, and finally I just had the border to finish.

I forgot to ask the name of this pattern, but without the sashing in between, it can count as an interlocking squares quilt, so I’ll stick to that.  When writing this post, it was 5 am, not a good time to ask someone the name of the quilt.

Giraffe in the stars

This little baby quilt, dropped by the courier on Friday, was a quick finish as the quilt maker just requested an edge-to-edge design.  Any quilt for a baby, toddler or even child needs no more than this.  They see the picture and colours, don’t care about the quilting, and never use these for too long.

Inherited quilt top

On the very first day of Wimbledon and during a Sinner match, a quilter phoned to ask if she could fetch her quilt.  I had no problem, as this is usually a rather quick transaction.  I, however, did not know she’d be bringing another huge quilt along, and this part takes time.  I have to make sure that we are on the same page regarding what needs to be done.

This completed top was inherited by a non-quilting daughter after her mom passed away.  She had no clue as to how it should be finished.  At a gathering, my client met her, and they talked about hobbies. This is how she came to hear the story.

My client then helped her with batting and backing and gave me the quilt to finish.  Knowing it is for a non-quilter, I did not want to overwhelm her with dense custom quilting or the price thereof.  I would have loved to do custom quilting, though.  I settled for meandering with the knowledge that she at least has a useable item to remember her mom by.

Second hexagon log quilt

I ordered 34 frozen meals and soup to be delivered on Thursday.  I basically spent most of my food budget on frozen food because Wimbledon starts tomorrow.  I am an avid sports fan on TV, though I am not fit enough to do any of these myself.  However, I take Wimbledon more seriously than any other sport, and I do become rather unsociable during this time.  Don’t visit me, don’t invite me, just let me be.

With this quilt being the last one I have with me currently, I am quietly hoping for a break.  We will have the little one over, seeing as it is school holidays in South Africa, but she is now old enough to understand.

I also spent the morning cleaning all the surfaces in my house.  The little robovac can do her thing at night, leaving me with just a little mopping to do and then Wimbledon is all mine.

Diamonds for a granddaughter

After the quilt maker and I decided on a motif, I laid the 3 layers out on top of each other to ensure I load the right sides and not end up with a backing shorter than the top.  Before taking the top to the machine, I decided to quickly count the blocks across and down.  It was 9 blocks across and 9 rows down as I used the sides to count.

After loading all three layers onto the frame, I started quilting and thought it would be a quick job.  Before long, I was done with row 3, which, at that stage in my confused mathematical frame of mind, was a third of the quilt done.  Not far to go.

I quilted, advanced, quilted, advanced, and when I got to row 9, I still had almost three-quarters of the quilt on the roll, still to quilt.  That’s when it hit me, these blocks were on point.  In between each of the 9 block rows, there were still 8 additional rows with 8 blocks each. Talk about a disappointment!

Finally done, I could return it to the quilt maker.

Squares for a dog lover

 This is from what I regard as my “kind quilter”.  She tends to bring me a quilt just after I worked on an intricate custom quilt, and I really just need an easy motif to take a break.

She made this for a dog lover and thus used dog prints in the quilt.

Hexagon logs

When receiving this quilt from an out-of-town quilter, all my skills, creativity, patience or whatever you would like to call it, were tested.

Along with the two quilts sent, computer-printed motifs came with instructions to do them on the quilts.

Now, as much as I’d like to improve my skills and get better at what I do, I am sadly just a freehand quilter and not a computer.  I won't be able to get the left side of any block exactly like the right or the bottom like the top.

I explained this to the maker, but she was adamant I had to try my best or at least do something similar to the prints she sent me.

I drew out heaps of motifs on paper diamonds the size of those on her quilt and finally came up with something I hoped would work.  For that, though, I had to make cardboard templates, two per block, and these had to be marked on the blocks.  The tiring part was that both light and dark fabrics were used in every block (diamond), and I had to use the blue water-erasable pen on the lights and a chalk marker on the darker fabric.  Time-consuming to the extreme.

I started out quilting, all the while hoping for the best, and as I progressed, I could see mistakes.  Backtracking was not very neat, curls not ending exactly on the same spot on both sides and echoes not spaced perfectly.  I did my best, and that is what I can offer.

Once off the frame and all the markings removed, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  Very few of the problems I noticed while standing by the quilt were even visible once it was off the frame and seen as a whole.

The maker has not seen the quilt yet, but liked what she saw in the photos I sent, so I am hoping she’d be just as pleased once she sees the real thing.

Quilt for a long-awaited baby

The maker of this does not regard quilting as her craft, but as a mother of 3 boys, with the 2 younger ones getting married early, both with 2 kids, she had her oldest, who got married late and was unable to have a little one of their own.

Many treatments and heaps of money, and MUCH later, they found out they were pregnant.  The scary/funny part is that he is now 47 and his wife is 42.  Never too old to try something new.

Grandma decided to make this quilt for this rather special little one. We chose a denser meander to hide all the puckering.  Grandma did her best, and the result is still pleasing.

Newbie, or so she claims, quilter

 I received this beginner sampler, and the maker, as well as the local teacher, claims she did not do any sewing before doing this quilt.  I looked closely at her seams and points and found it really hard to believe, but I don’t think they’d lie to me.  We might just have a master quilter in the making.

Kaffet Fasset quilt

I have a confession to make…. I dislike Kaffe Fassett fabric. While working on this quilt, I had a list of reasons, but once it was done, I realised this is just my opinion, so I won't share the details.

I have, however, decided to try to convince any future Kaffet Fasset fans, handing me quilts to finish, to settle for an all-over meander instead of any detailed motif or even custom quilting.  With this feather filler, I simply couldn’t see where I’ve been, where I am supposed to be going or looking back on what I did, see any motif at all. It was just a crazy bunch of overprinted colours.  To me, too much.

I struggled to finish and ended up just quilting in half-hour increments, as that is how long I could pretend to enjoy it.  When I finally advanced to where I could see the backing, I knew at least the motif on the back was visible.

Twisted rope runner

I searched the internet for the name of this technique and saw that it goes by different names.  For the previous one, I used “twisted pole” and opted to give this one a different name.

The previous one was also done in an edge-to-edge pattern, while this one is custom-quilted and, as small as it is, kept me busy a couple of days.

Two whole cloths

The user of these, as far as I know, is not a quilter.  She sent these two solid pieces of fabric to be quilted in an all-over pattern.  This will go up against a wall, and her products/patterns will be pinned to these.  I am not sure how the quilted fabrics will be attached to the walls, but she may have a stand of sorts.

I asked if both should have the same motifs, but she preferred a difference.  The motifs won’t be visible once she attaches her samples/examples, but they will still serve the purpose.

Another Lily Dreams runner

I often get several similar quilts from the same quilting group.  This is a second Lily Dreams table runner from the same group as the previous one I did.

I have an appointment to have my hair cut this morning, and I’m really nervous; I’ll be making use of a new, unknown (to me) hairdresser.  Luckily, my hair grows fast, but I am still hoping for the best.

For the weekend ahead, I plan to finish three quilts.  Well, maybe just two, but start on the third.

Sampler blocks table runner

This bronchitis is frustrating.  One day, I will feel normal, able to move and get things done, just to shower the next day and realise there is just not enough oxygen in my lungs to do anything else.

Yesterday was one of my better days, and I was able to finish this runner made up of sampler blocks.

Lily dreams table runner

I had more urgent shopping to do before I started this next runner, and I’ve been doing two online quilt courses/summits and fell behind on one as I was ill and had to catch up.  I started doing a little marking, stopped to watch the computer and vice versa.  As sick as I was of chicken soup, I decided to have more on Wednesday evening.  It was cooked, and I really had to start quilting/ learning and was not in the mood to cook again.  I didn’t get very far with quilting. We take care of the youngest granddaughter in the afternoon, and when her mom fetched her early, hubby and I started coughing again, nebulised, and stayed in bed for an hour or so.  We also retreated to the bedroom much earlier.  The quilt was loaded, so I started with the border.  Thursday was another day in bed for me.  Friday, I finally decided, breath or no breath, I need to quilt, which I did.

Friday evening, hubby sounded terrible.  On Saturday morning, I took him to a doctor; he didn’t go when I did, as his old doctor had retired and he hadn’t been to anyone new.  I made the decision for him and set him up with my doctor… female (ha-ha).  I had to turn angry for him to stay in bed, but I managed, or he listened.

Without being ugly, how peaceful this house (and me) was with him in bed all day and I at least having energy to move around.  I bought him a box of tangerines, a bottle of orange juice and take him his meals and the odd snack in between, and I have the whole house and TV all to myself. Just me, myself and I.

Twisted pole table runner

Finally, a little quilting again.  Hubby and I have been flat on our backs in bed for 9 full days with bronchitis. The weather played along, cold, wet and windy and made staying in bed worth it. The bad part is that with bronchitis, you don’t have body aches, a stuffed head, or any other flu symptoms, but you just don’t have enough oxygen to do the smallest thing.  Not to mention the constant coughing and feeling of drowning in your own phlegm. 

I had 5 quilts waiting to be done and couldn’t do anything about it.  Yesterday, we both felt better, and I decided to give every sheet, blanket, throw, and any cover a decent wash to try to get rid of the germs.  I also needed to cook a proper meal.  I was able to cook a huge pot of chicken soup.  This was done in increments when the oxygen allowed me, and we ate chicken soup until I could no longer stomach it!

With my energy levels up, I took everything to the washing machine, but one dog had to go to the veterinarian.  After loading the third batch, we quickly took her, just to return to a flooded kitchen floor.  Our 38-year-old top loader decided she had had enough.  Turns out the bottom started rusting, the water leaked and dripped onto electrical wires, which tripped the electricity in the house.

With half of the washing done, we had to shop for a new machine.  Now, 38 years ago, with my old machine, life was easy.  You only selected small-medium or large load, hot or cold water and washing time.  OH, dear, no more.  Nowadays, everything is computerised; one can even work the machine from one's cellular phone.  How and why?  Who would load the laundry?  It weighs the fabric, you select the type, and then the machine does its thing. Select water level, decide on time to wash, decide how many times to rinse and spin and when I selected bedding for 2 large fleece blankets, it took almost 2 hours.  No can do!  Luckily, the salesman explained well, the machine did not come with an instruction manual (one can EASILY download it, he explained to the pensioners!!).  Once the machine has decided what and how long to do whatever, you are fortunately still allowed to manually adjust it.  In future, doing bedding will definitely be set for a shorter time.

I received the 5 quilts over 2 days, just as the bronchitis started, I warned the makers I am not doing well, but before being forced to stay in bed, I got to finish one runner.  The maker said she used her scraps and didn’t need custom quilting, so again I was grateful for a quick finish.  Less to feel guilty about.

I have not even opened any of the other quilts, but so much has been neglected while sick that I have plenty of catching up to do.

Blocks in blue

 I used last Friday and the weekend to cook for the freezer.  I struggle with quilts awaiting to be done, yet I still have to cook meals too.  I have a husband, as skinny as a broomstick, who believes in 3 meals a day (two containing meat if bacon and eggs are not served as breakfast) and snacking in between, with cookies as his favourite.  As is, I already cook chicken and rice for our elderly dogs once a week, I boil veggies for the chickens, and I still have to prepare our normal meals.  At this stage, I refuse to bake cookies.  Hubby shares these with the dogs and chickens, donating my hard-baked attempt to animals.  If he needs cookies, he can buy them himself.

To get back to my story, when I have quilts awaiting, I need to prioritise what to do first.  I hate working on a quilt; having to walk back and forth to check on food, and I would hate my work to reek of onions or garlic once done.  If I get going on a quilt first, meals will end up somewhat shabby, nothing special, just something to serve to make me feel better.  If I choose cooking first, the quilt is loaded late in the day, so I may not make the best motif design choices, so it waits for the next day.

Having frozen veggies, cooked meat or full meals in the freezer makes my decision-making life easier.  Enough about my cooking rituals.

This quilt maker’s daughter-in-law lives abroad and was gifted the blue fabric.  She really could not get herself to like the fabric, but, feeling guilty, decided to make something of it.  When done, her own daughter came to visit and loved it.  It would be perfect for a couch in her house, so Mom got motivated to finish it.

Once done and having it over at my place for a while, she ended up not disliking the fabric all that much anymore, but already gifted it, so her daughter will get the “not so ugly” quilt after all.

Bargello heart table runner

This was the third of the quilts I dropped off from the ‘out of town’ quilter.  Because of all the different fabric colours in the bargello wave, I knew full custom quilting would not show up much.  I spoke to the maker, and we decided to use a combination of edge-to-edge bargello with simple straight lines in the background.

I had this quilt loaded on the frame during Easter, and so badly wanted to start on Monday, but at 18:30 on Sunday evening, the electricity in large parts of our city went out due to a fault.  Monday, therefore, was hell, sitting around unable to do anything.  By lunch, the electricity was back on, but with my tummy full (eating was most of what I did during this time), I was simply too lazy and unmotivated to start.  The quilt had to stand over until Tuesday.

Kaffet Fasset squares

Another quilt with squares to be used as a tablecloth, so no batting in this one, only flannel in the middle.  This is my customer preferring large-scale meandering. After doing all the tedious straight lines in the previous quilt, I welcomed something light and loose.

Postage stamp quilt

Somewhere along the line, I forgot to keep my blog updated. This led me to decide not to share quilts on Facebook, but rather to have them written about on my blog.

This quilt came to me via a local quilt teacher who presented a class in a town some 200 kilometres from us.  The teacher would return the next week, and I had to finish the quilt before then.  The quilt maker only requested diagonal lines over the centre of the quilt and left the choice of what to do on the border to me.

The border had massive waves, and the best I could do was quilt it to death so the sides would lie as flat as possible.  The maker seemed satisfied after seeing a photo I sent her.

ABC quilt alphabet blocks

I haven’t seen one of these in ages, and the worst part is, I can not remember the name of a single block starting with that letter of the alphabet.

Old age is not for sissies. I often use AI just to help refresh my memory.  This one took forever to finish, or so it felt.  My feet, knees, hips and lower back knew I was at the frame most of the day.  Thus, going to bed at 19:30 was nothing strange.  Not because I was all that tired, but I just needed to get my body in a different position.