QAL Updates

Even though I’ve still been watching Wimbledon every day, I’ve been able to make considerable progress on my quilt along projects. As for my Ladies prediction…Ha, I was not even close! LOL The finalists were Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina and the unlikely winner… Rybakina. I think the whole tennis world was pulling for Jabeur but she just couldn’t keep her nerves under control.

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Before I get into my quilting updates I wanted to share this blog post from Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged. If you are spending a lot on prescription drugs, please take a moment to check this out: Are You Paying Too Much for Prescription Drugs?

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Summer Book Club QAL

I’m happy to report this quilt is completely finished!! Woohoo! I put the final stitches in the binding Thursday evening. I’m really happy with the way this turned out and I’m STILL in love with that backing fabric… I may have to hunt down a few more yards 😜

Taken indoors right after finishing

Taken outside the next day

When I posted this on IG one person asked how I kept the quilting lines so straight. I explained that I used the edge guide that came with my machine. This little tool comes is so handy when straight-line quilting!

I’ve put this quilt up for sale but if I don’t get a buyer I’ll add it to my donation pile 😊

Positivity 2022 QAL

I started making more blocks as soon as I finished the book quilt and I’m more than halfway done… here’s a pic of the first 40

ugh, bad indoor lighting ☹️

I’m using Alison Glass SunPrint 2019 and these bold colors are just GORGEOUS!! This is not the final layout, I’m just putting them up as I finish the blocks. I may have to see if I have enough of each color to try to organize them in a rainbow theme 🤪

APQUFO Challenge

Unfortunately I haven’t done anything for this challenge. I did not complete the project for June (my Rainbow Postage quilt) and the number pulled for July is #4 which is my Skittles quilt. Now I’m torn between two projects I really love… do I finish the June project or move forward with July…???

That’s about all for now… The Men’s final is on and I need to go watch it!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Distracted

Nothing happened in my sewing room this week because I was properly distracted by watching Wimbledon! Yes, I could sew while watching but I haven’t. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying each match to the fullest and it’s been awesome!! Unfortunately not every match has turned out as I hoped but it’s still been great having the freedom to watch as much as I want now that I’m retired!

My pick for Ladies winner got knocked out yesterday (Swiatek) so now I think I’ll pick either Badosa or Halep to win it and conveniently they play each other tomorrow! My pick in the Men’s draw (Djokovic) is still going strong and should make it to the finals.

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I finally broke down and called a house cleaning service to come give us a quote for 1x month cleaning. I had been thinking about it for quite a while (over a year) however I kept telling myself that I could do it… but honestly I just haven’t been doing a good job of it. This cleaning service was recommended by two other people in our neighborhood and to my surprise she came by on Monday to give a quote and we had our first cleaning on Thursday! Ahhhhhh, it’s so nice to have someone else clean :-p Our house wasn’t filthy but it was dusty and I admit I haven’t been cleaning the nooks & crannies. The initial cleaning was $210 and the monthly service is $150. I’m very pleased with the job they did!

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I mentioned last month that I started following a Mediterranean eating lifestyle and I gotta say I’ve been loving it! All the fresh veggies, beans and grains have really kept my sugar cravings under control. And I found out I really like quinoa…this is the first time I’ve ever had it and I’ve been using it in salads and even warming it up for breakfast (like I would oatmeal) and throwing in blueberries. I’ve also been enjoying cutting up veggies for my salad bowls and it looks so pretty!

An added bonus is I’ve lost 3 pounds without really trying – yay! And I feel better too, much less bloated!

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That’s all for now! Hopefully I’ll get some sewing in this week and will have quilty pictures to share next week 🙂

Have a great rest of your weekend!

No progress :-(

Unfortunately no progress has been made quilting the Double Wedding Ring quilt. It’s been sitting on my dining room table for two weeks and I have barely added any stitches 😦 I have family visiting for a few days starting tomorrow so I need to move it all back to my sewing room. SO FRUSTRATING!!

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I’ve been enjoying Wimbledon these past few weeks and I was so happy to see Ash Barty win the Women’s final yesterday!! I’m currently watching the Men’s final: Djokovic v. Berrettini… it’s been a pretty good match so far, each player has been dealing with nerves and poor shot selections. I’d like to see Berrettini win because it’s his first…but I’ll be happy if Djokovic wins too.

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That’s about all for today… have a great rest of your weekend 🙂

Still quilting

I’m about half way done quilting on the Double Wedding Ring quilt. I’ve got 9 more circles to outline then I still need to do another 62 flowers in the center. As a reminder here’s what all the finished circles will look like

Pushing and pulling and smooshing this huge quilt through my domestic machine has proven to be quite strenuous – ugh! It’s been years since I’ve quilted something this large and back then it was a simple meander. Quilting this won’t be the last challenge either… after that’s finished I still need to trim and bind it with all it’s curves and angles!! eeeeeek!

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Nothing much else going on around here…still plugging away on WW. I did start walking again last week, just short 15 minute walks to get back into a routine. Let’s hope this helps move the needle on the scale 😉

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In other news, we worked with our financial advisor this week and he told us that we’re in a great place for me to retire whenever I want – I just need to decide when!!!!!!!!!!

OK, that’s both exhilarating and frightening!! I’m 59 1/2 and I’ve worked my entire life… I started working full-time the Monday after I graduated high school, and I’ve been working at the same company ever since, 42 years (I’ve survived a number of acquisitions and mergers).

Now my brain is working overtime trying to figure out exactly what would I do every day if I retired??? I don’t want to sew & quilt every waking hour…I would get burned out. My days have been so structured for the past 40+ years… I’m not sure what to do with myself if I’m not accountable to someone/something else???

Am I crazy? Has anyone else gone through something like this?? All advice and perspective is welcome 🙂

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That’s all for now… have a great rest of your weekend! Wimbledon starts tomorrow!!

Yoga & Quilting

I’m still in a holding pattern waiting for my next tshirt quilt project so I started working on a few things that have been languishing.

I pulled all my Honey Pot Bee blocks out and put them up on the wall to see if they played nicely together…yep, I’m still liking my fabric choice – Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis.

Once they were all up there I decided to make another block – the alternate for July. Each month two different patterns are offered and I’ve usually just made one of them but I really liked both this month.

I then went on a cleaning binge – not too crazy or anything, more like just tidying up and organizing…no pictures of that!

Yesterday while watching the Ladies final at Wimbledon I got my Learning Quilt back under the needle and made great progress. I quilted each block differently, sometimes playing with the piecing pattern and other times just winging it with a design I had never tried before – hey, it’s a ‘learning quilt’ so why not!

I finished quilting the sashing and borders today while watching the Gentleman’s final at Wimbledon (Yay, Roger!). All that’s left is the binding – I’ve chosen two shades of solid green because I see a lot of green in the blocks and there is a touch of green in the backing. Hopefully I can get that on tonight!

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On the exercise front, I haven’t been doing much cardio but I have been doing Yoga almost every day. It’s a lot harder than it looks and I can really feel it in my legs, abs and back (clearly my posture is lacking!). I’ve found a 30 day series on YouTube from “Yoga with Adriene“, she’s really great at describing how you should be moving and positioning your body…and she’s pretty funny too!

That’s it for me…what are you working on these days?