Quilts delivered

Had my appointment at the VA for my knee and am definitely on the schedule for a total knee replacement the end of February. That will work out for attending the retreat in Phoenix, and for daughter Jackie's wedding in mid-April.

After my appointment, we delivered quilts to Dr. Kaufman. It's the reason I keep doing this. She is a wonderful doctor, and it is a small payback for all the care she gave our daughter Lindsay.

My 100th blog post came and went and I meant to have a giveaway. I'll have to think of something and post it on here, so stay tuned--all two of my readers! Here's the other Ariel quilt and its pieced backing...


OOPS! In my haste to post these pictures, I forgot to edit them and my quilts have legs and feet! LOL!

Finishing more

I've been on a roll and finishing quilts that Pat sent me. I'm on a deadline since I have to go to Albuquerque on Friday and it will be a good day to deliver quilts to Dr. Kaufman.

Winter has settled in here. It was 10 this morning! But thankfully the sun has been shining brightly and we've reaped a lot of solar gain heat. My sewing room has a large southern sliding glass door, and while working pantographs, I have my back in the winter sun.

This is one of two quilts that I loaded on a king sheet. The colors all worked well together.


I'm now working on a second of two "Ariel" panel quilts. They're great for a sea turtle pantograph by Dave Hudson in variegated King Tut.

Winter comes and goes...

A few minutes ago it looked like a nasty snow storm was descending down on us. The wind picked up and it's blown away somewhere east of us. I don't know why I'd call it nasty--we really do need the moisture.

I finished quilting another two quilts that Pat sent. I was able to load them sideways and make use of a king flat sheet for backing. In between all of this we installed Edgerider wheels on my Gammill. The excellent instructions by Jeffrey Lomicka made all the difference on installing the wheels on my stitch regulated Gammill. I've only tried them a little, at the end of the quilt, but I can tell it's going to make a big difference in my control, and I will join the ranks of others singing their praise.


I finished one other donation quilt. I had wanted to do something freehand rather than a pantograph with this quilt, but I really struggle with design ideas to evenly quilt something--and usually end up going with a pantograph. I didn't on this one, except in the borders, but the quilting isn't terribly exciting. Oh well, it keeps the layers together, and sometimes that's enough.

Fall hike

My husband hasn't hiked all summer, waiting for his knee to heal from a short "run" to get out of the rain he did when he went back east. His knee hasn't really healed, but he decided to go for one of his "lesser" hikes. It was so beautiful and full of birds that he wanted me to go with him...just to the canyon. He generally hikes 5 miles beyond this point. Okay, so I thought, I'd try it. I used two ski poles which helped considerably but halfway down the gravelly trail I had serious doubts about my ability to make it. But I persevered and was well rewarded for my pain.

There was a rock ledge with a deeper little pool of rather icy water where I sat and soaked my still healing ankle. The canyon was indeed beautiful, quiet, and the weather just perfect. Unfortunately most of the bird population had decided that winter is really coming and fled south. We did get a great look at a Williamson's sapsucker (woodpecker) just as we were packing up.

Thankfully the trek up proved to be much easier. Once I got in and sat down in the truck though, I was done for the day. Took my boots off and slipped back into my Crocs. It was the first day I've had "real" shoes on since I wiped out on the bike.

A couple more finished

My friend Pat is a prolific quilter (and I use this to term to apply to all the various stages of quilt making, designing, piecing, and finishing). I'm not very fast when it comes to piecing. I'd much rather quilt and bind than get beyond the first few blocks. So it's a good working relationship for us.

I'm working on quilting the tops she sent me, and have finished the two "cowboy" quilts. One for her niece's boyfriend's son, Ethan, and the other will go to Dr. Kaufman.



I got a new pantograph for these from Dave Hudson, Buffalo Skull, though Pat and I feel it looks much more like a cow skull. (Though I know I haven't seen any buffalo skulls.)

I was happy to back them with this nice quality, muslin feed sack material that I picked up at a thrift store some time ago. I'd been wanting to do a western theme quilt to be able to use it...but as you know I'm not fast or prolific when it comes to piecing.