Little Blocks Quilt Finished

The Little Blocks quilt is finished and has been delivered to its new home. I have also written the quilt's story. I like this quilt and may very well make another version of it.

I've been getting everything ready for my Liberated Birds Classes I'll be teaching at the Night Owl Quilting Studio later this month. (They have added two more class dates to the schedule.) I went through my class kit and updated some data and went through all my samples and example pieces so I had it all clear in my head about what I wanted to say and demonstrate. 

Years ago I set up a separate travel kit so I don't have to pack my tools when I have a class, and I know I have everything in one place, ready to go. I went through that and got that ready to go. I haven't taught an in-person class since before the pandemic (2019), and I am very excited to teach again. I had printed copies of my tutorial for reference in the class, and the kit reminded me that I have updated the tutorial since, so I ordered printed copies of the newest version. I've made a list of the quilts I want to bring with me. I'll bring Crowing About It, which is the quilt made from birds students have sent me.

The weather has been good for working out in the garden and I've been clearing the old raised bed in the yard. It's less work than I thought it would be, and I'm enjoying it. I want to plant tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, snap peas and some corn. All that in addition to my usual herbs and lettuces. I got about a third of it done, but the weather is supposed to be rainy all week, so I don't know when I can get to the rest of it. I have a gal who will help me out, so I won't overtax myself.

I was assembling a planter box on Friday when I got bitten by some bugs on both wrists. Now, mosquitoes love me, and their bites always swell up and remain itchy for days, but these bites were just next level. There must have been ten bites on my wrists and hands and all swelled up and were crazy itchy. I tried all the anti-itch anti-bugbite stuff I had but nothing seemed to work. These bites drove me crazy. I had a hard time sleeping, and actually woke up in the middle of the night dreaming of being itchy, and scratching both wrists. I tried applying ice, and that seemed to settle things down a bit.

I made it through Saturday, and had the same hard time sleeping Saturday night. The location of the bug bites made them sensitive whenever they came in contact with anything, like the sleeves of my shirt,  putting my hand in my pocket, or anything I touched. I had an antihistamine cream I had been using, but when I checked the tube it had expired in 2022. 

I drove to the drugstore and showed my wrists to the pharmacist. He winced. "OH! Does it itch?"

"Is the sky blue? It itches every single minute."

He told me where to find the Cortisone creams and said to buy the cheapest one. When I got home and looked at the directions, it said to apply it three or four times a DAY! Well, three or four times a day was about three or four times less than I needed! No matter what I had done, the itching never stopped.

I knew it would go away eventually, but sleep was what I wanted most. After applying the Cortisone cream thoroughly, I realized that perhaps the swelling was making things worse, so I took an ibuprofen before I went to bed.

This morning the swelling has gone down, and it's almost bearable.

So anyway, that's what's been going on in my neck of the woods!

Plans

 

I've taught Birds and I've taught Letters, but I've never taught multi-session classes that would use both. The gals at Night Owl Quilting Studio were very interested in students being able to use elements together to make a holiday wall hanging. 

I have been tasked with creating a wall hanging about 30 x 40 inches that used birds and some of the other elements of my holiday and noel banners.

I was doing pretty well until the power went out midmorning yesterday. No electricity, no heat, no internet access. I couldn't sew, couldn't cook. So I cleaned the house. Thoroughly. 

Then I lay on the couch and read a book.

The electricity came back after three hours. The internet needed another two.

 

I went back in the studio and continued working. This is what I came up with. (This is just the elements. I haven't sewn them to each other yet.)

If you are interested in making a holiday wall hanging similar to this, contact the folks at Night Owl Quilting Studio and sign up for this class!