UFOs In My House

Yes, I have UFOs in my house, and it's finally time to get rid of a few. And what, you may be asking, are UFOs doing in my house? Alas, they reside here.

Daddy's Memorial Quilt: Into the Wild Blue Yonder

If you're a quilter, you've already figured it out – Un Finished Objects. Quilters have week-long retreats designed to finish UFOs, so I'm having my own, private, mini retreat (just me). Or, perhaps, this will be a maxi retreat, as it may take me a week or two of concentrated effort, maybe even three! ;-)

Right now, my list looks like this:

Daddy's photo, part of the label

• ·      Sew label on finished quilt
• ·      Trim and edge quilted quilt
• ·      Sew buttons "seeds" on finished watermelon table runner
• ·      Finish pulling threads on otherwise-finished Horse Heaven Hills table runner
• ·      Quilt the quilt loaded on Big Bertha
• ·      Quilt the following quilts that are ready:
• ·                  Mother's Memorial Quilt
• ·                  Uncle Carl's Memorial Quilt
• ·                  Grandma & Skipper's Memorial Quilt
• ·                  Memorial table topper from quilt retreat
• ·                  Wall hanging made in Florida
• ·                  Flower quilt
• ·                  Snowball quilt
• ·                  Quilt I made for my bed
• ·      And, once those are all quilted, they need to be trimmed and edged
• ·      Finish sewing all the quilts I've cut out and started
• ·      Buy more flannel and finish flannel quilt
• ·      Finish hand quilting wall hanging started in Oregon
• ·      Finish hand quilting another wall hanging started in Oregon
• ·      Edge and frame my "art quilt"
• ·      Clean up the mess.

Mother's Memorial Quilt: Red Hibiscus

The list will change as more UFOs are found, and as items are crossed off.

There will be more photos, but probably not until next week. But you get the idea, yes?

My Small Art Quilt: Foggy Day at the Oregon Coast

 There are UFOs in my house, and they need to go!

Did you know...

 

...there was an article in the news the other day stating researchers have determined that people who smile lower their heart rate?

Rainy Day did not know that, but she did know that if you wear a smile, whether you mean it or not, you can't think angry thoughts while that smile is plastered on your face!

Doesn't that make it worth the time and possible trouble to wear a smile? (Besides, it makes people wonder what you've been up to.)

 

Rainy Day used to commute 50 miles to work, and 51 miles home. Yes, she went home a different route, and it was one mile longer. She tried to smile the whole trip. Made the stop and crawl of much of the drive a tad more bearable. She also kept a jar of smiles (bubble stuff) in her car, and when she was trapped in the traffic, at a full stop, she frequently rolled down her window and blew bubbles. She could see the faces of the drivers behind her go from angry to smiling as the bubbles made their way in whatever errant breezes wafted over the locked grid.

These days, Rainy D's commute is measured in steps – from her bedroom to her kitchen (and coffee pot!) to her office – or her quilting room. She seldom goes forth during 'rush hour', which is next to nonexistent where she now lives, and no longer has the jar of smiles in her car;-)

Warm Memories

But she does have quilts! Remember last week's post (Rainy Day does, but only because she reread it;-) and the photo of the quilt on the Big Beast of a quilting machine? Well, here is that quilt – finished. All 63 of the blocks got their own quilting – she used four patterns and repeated so they formed a pattern. There is going to be a real learning curve on this machine, and Rainy Day is going to have to do lots of practice. And she's not at all sure that practice will make perfect, either! But she will have fun. And wear a smile;-)

 

closeup of some of the quilting

This quilt was made entirely with scraps of other quilts except for the red sashing and the yellow border, those were in Rainy Day's stash. Oh, all right, she may have bought the flannel backing for this quilt, but to be honest, she can't remember. That, too, may have been in her stash. (She tends to by fabric she likes and may need later when it's on sale.)

Uniting for a Cause - Suicide Prevention!
Rainy Day has donated a copy of My Adventures as Brother Rat for the Bloggers Unite for a Cause. The Click HERE below isn't linked, so instead CLICK HERE for more information.

 Thanks, Justine Dell, for doing this!

Rainy Day and Happy Jazz

As you, my Gentle Readers and Fans know, Rainy Day writes. It's currently a hobby she hopes to turn into a full time business. She writes novels because she has stories to tell, and really wants to sell them (so, feel free to buy them, read them, give them as presents – support the arts – shucks, support Rainy Day;-)

However, like all jobs, no matter how fun, there comes a time when Rainy Day wants a vacation, so she is currently on a writing vacation and partaking of her other hobby, quilting.

Several months ago, she saw a pattern in a magazine for a scrap quilt (one made with leftovers) and set about getting all her scraps and leftovers out, and the pieces cut, neatly stacked, and placed in some clean salad boxes (a quilter's goodest friend, those clear salad boxes!) and she waited for her vacation. The vacation arrived. She placed the boxes in order on her sewing table, and pieced the pieces. Then she ironed them, cut them per directions, and repieced them. And, she admits, she now and then unstitched and restitched more than a few. But, finally, she had all the blocks done.

Quilt Top from scraps, Happy Jazz

The next step was to lay them out in proper order, and sew the blocks together into rows, then the rows together until she had the top finished. The sum of the total is considerably brighter than the individual pieces. Rainy Day suggests you view it while wearing sun glasses.

The next vacation project is to learn to use her quilting machine.

HQ Sixteen Quilting Machine and earlier scrap quilt in Rainy Day's Quilt Room

And, while busily quilting, she's also plotting out another novel. A writer's work is never done;-)