Diary of a Traveling Challenge

One of the best things aout quilting is all the quilting friends you make along the way. I've had the great fortune to be a part of mini groups and large quilds. My group in MD, the Loose Ends, refuse to let me go even though I now live in CA. That's okay. Our motto seems to be "once a Loosie, always a Loosie". I like it that way.



Our little group has shared in many challenges along the way. We are currently doing a row by row challenge. In case I wondered if I was still a part of the group...........no problem. They are mailing me my project row to work on every two months and I mail on my project row to the next recepient. So far it is working.

And now for a little picture diary of my second round of the "Loosie Row Challenge". My job was to add a third row to the piece that was sent to me.



This is how it arrived. Yikes! Fabric, fabric, everywhere. Kaffe Fasset fabric. What am I going to do with Kaffe Fasset fabric????


HHHMMmmmmm............Maybe this idea from a magazine will work. But I will NOT do curved piecing. No sir. Not me. I will figure out a way to do applique.


My new mantra has become......It's okay to mix large colorful prints. It's okay to mix large colorful prints. The quilt police will not arrest me for mixing large colorful prints.


Well look at that. They are very colorful and pretty. The fabrics and overall feel of the quilt is still not my style. But it is fun to stretch and work outside my comfort zone.









We need some spacers to make it work. Probably should have tried to make five leaf shapes instead of four. Odd numbers usually work better. Oh well. I think this looks okay.


And there you have it. The diary of a challenge. It is now boxed up with all it's books, scraps, pictures on a thumb drive, and fabrics. Have fun JoAnna! As for me............well...........my next one will arrive in March. Yikes! Time to stretch again.

Back to Blogging

Here it is January 2010. My last date to write in this space was in April, two months after Stephen's Heaven date. So much has changed and happened in my life since then. I'm going to try a little catching up summary.

Timing seems to be everything. There is a season for all things to happen. By May 7, 2009 we were the proud owners of a house in Alameda, CA. If only one could just snap fingers and have everything in place. Instead, there were trips to MD to pack, organize, sort, and throw-away. Then there was the dealing with a water leak in MD, the finding of a listing agent, the packers and the moving van, the staging and the final good-bye and flight to CA.

The new house sure looks different from the one in MD. One story, shingles, less square feet and perfect location near walks and views of SF Bay. Most of all, it's close to the darling oldest son and his family with the two DGDs. Are we settled in? Well...........we are certainly able to function and even entertain for a holiday (Thanksgiving) but the garage still has many many boxes to be dealt with someday. I can fix a meal, pour a glass of wine, sew and watch a little T.V. Life seems to be resetting its normal.

I've joined Amador Valley Quilt Guild as an outlet for my creative quilting urges. The meetings are enjoyable and I am impressed by the amount of charity quilts they make each month. I need to get sewing and join in. I've also found a small group of quilters that meets at the senior center on Friday afternoons. It's great because they have big tables for cutting laying out designs. I had to give up my own project space in moving here. Now I share sewing with the guest room. It's becoming more and more doable. The goal is to design and install built-in cabinets.

The move here to Alameda has been a good thing for us and for our family. We see each other often, we reflect and remember Stephen and we all value the love we have for one another. The journey is continuous, changing and different each day but never ending. I take each day one at a time and seek and receive happiness in all that I can.