No, my life did not end way back when after I posted about Charles and I getting married. Far from it! In some ways, it just began. We recently celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. Another grandson was added to the mix in our Sam who recently turned 6. We have a bonus grandson in Sam R from Jeff's lady Ashley. We have two fraternal twin great-grandsons from Jeff's oldest son Trenton, about 6 1/2 months old at this writing. Darel would be proud of his great-grandson who is just a bit older than the twins. My mom passed away on MLK Day 2023, just shy of her 91st bday and their 72nd wedding anniversary. Thankfully, Dad is still going strong. We joined a local church. I am the new church treasurer and could use a few prayers as this is new territory for me though I served that position on a bowling league many moons ago. What do I know about payroll??
I don't do as much donation quilt work as I used to, but there are a few of my Mom's donation quilts to quilt along with a sizable stack of my own quilts. COVID and members passing and moving away finally decimated Bama Belles down to two members so I pulled the plug. However, we two are also in other groups together. I am currently the president of the JOY Quilt Guild after serving as its secretary of two years. Somehow I got sucked in after I said I needed a break, but I am about a year in now and enjoying it. We just had our annual 3 day spring retreat which was a blast!
Our guild is having a PhD challenge for the first 6 months of the year. We were to pick 6 of our half done projects and put them in whatever order we wished. The coordinator rolls a die and whatever number 1 through 6 is what we have to complete before the next meeting for Show -n- Tell. So far I have finished a Fidget Quilt, a Fall Quarter Square Log Cabin quilt I had started at the Fall Retreat 2023 and the long awaited Two of a Kind/Cheap Trick quilt I had started way back in April 2009.
It was the featured quilt on the 15th Anniversary American Patchwork and Quilting magazine April 2008, Issue 91. As I said, I started it back in 2009 and had most of the top half of it done and a few of the shorter rows from the other half. Who knows when it got set aside but like a lot of my stuff, it did, in favor of something newer and brighter, no doubt. Well, it is finished now, thanks to the PhD push. I used my beloved 30's repros along with some bits of vintage fabric from one of my aunts. Ruth long arm quilted it beautifully with a Baptist Fans motif which I felt was true to the era.
Next up from the most recent dice roll is "Christmas Joy". This is a row quilt begun with the Collinsville Rowers from about 2008 or 2009. The rows have been done for a long time and I have to do 7 bands of red and white checkerboard between the rows. 168-4 patches in other words. Boring sewing, really and how I spent my days at the recent retreat. I had at least sewn all the strips and evened up the rows prior so some of the grunt work was done.
Life DOES go on. I have to refer back to my blog for this and that every now and again for something, like "when did I start this project anyway?" I kept telling myself I should update it though I doubt anyone really looks at it anymore except the scammers. Whatever, it is my journal
