Quilting in the Time of COVID19

I am hosting a Sew Along for my Alameda Quilt Guild during this "time of COVID 19".  I am going to post my picture tutorial here. The members who are participating all purchased the Pattern "Mini Charmers" by AnkaTreasures.  No copies of the pattern were made or distributed. The sample is from the project "Woven Squares". 

A Family Story

Once upon a time, my mother was young, single, fun-loving and serving as a WAVE in the US Navy in Washington, D.C. Some of that fun turned out to be an unexpected pregnancy.  There is quite the story to go with this but for now, I'll just show some pictures of a happy family reunion.  My mom put the baby up for adoption and 73 years later, he found us.  This is a miracle for sure and it is basically thanks to Ancestry.com DNA.  We were able to meet together in San Diego this past June. Here are some pictures.  Story to be added later. 

Me and my new found brother, Michael Rowe

Ruth Mattern Callaway's three sons, Charlie, Bill and Mike

Four of the five siblings.  Missing Cindy

Visiting Mom's internment site at Fort Rosecrans National

Cemetery in Point Loma, California

Mike, Leslie and Jon atop Mt. Helix in La Mesa, California

Mike wanted to visit a California Winery so we went to 

Callaway Vineyards of course

Our brother Mike.  He said "I was once an only child and 

now I have a family."

I Am A Developing Artist

Thanks to having taken a class at Craft Napa in January 2018, I have expanded my creative horizons.  I am now dabbling with quilt art, fused quilt art, lettering, card making, stamping, embossing, art journaling......you name it.  Conventional quilting has been on the back burner lately but still holds my heart and interest.  It is so exciting and liberating to try new things.

The finished project from the Personal Symbols class.  My 

word was "Grace" and I used the theme of "three" to represent

the trinity.

One small project using my "new to me" Cricut Machine.  

Getting organized.  Now I know I am getting serious about this

new crafting opportunity.

Art Journaling needs pens and water colors and 

paints.  Really enjoying this. 

A basket full of die-cut goodies to play with 

and enjoy.  

Thanks to the wonder of the internet, I have bid on

and won several cartridges for the Cricut.  I think I 

am seriously hooked on this.....at least for now. 

A place to practice becoming an artist.  My teacher at 

Craft Napa, Deborah Broschart, said that we are all

Developing Artists.

Time Marches On

I guess I am a little less interested in keeping a blog up-to-date.  For awhile, I was pretty regular every month but lately months go by before I think about it.  If it becomes an obligation, then I am not interested.   So I will keep going.......jotting down a few thoughts and pictures as the mood hits me.   My original intention was more oriented towards recording my quilt projects than family events.  It has become both.

Having just checked, I last posted on this blog March 2017.  Considering that today is February 27, 2018 it has been almost a year.  So much for keeping up to date.  I'll need to cover 12 months of activity to catch up.

 Lots and lots of quilts have been produced over the last few months.  Nice to document my work and see the different techniques that I have tried.

Going to Road To California with my friend Mary Moore Paine was fun as always.  We tried new things and took a class in printing on fabric with stamps.  Stretching myself outside the box.


There is snow on them thar hills in Ontario.  California was getting quite a bit of of rain and snow in January 2017,

Always fun to travel with a friend.

Something new......fabric printing

Wahoo!!!!  A new iPhone 6s for me.  Loving it. 

And now some pictures of our small but comfy patio with new planters and plants.  It is really becoming a cozy place to eat or hang out when the weather co-operates and the wind doesn't blow.

Some garden bounty to make guacamole...onions, cilantro and parsley.

New Stools for the family room

Closing this post with a beautiful beach picture from Cambria, CA.