Sunday, July 15, 2018

Christmas in July in the Big Apple

Hello, hello! Since the flurry of finishes in my last post, I haven't had too much to blog about. We moved the boat all the way from Palm Beach to New York City in one long hop. The seas were very calm and I was able to sew a little bit each day. I also straightened things up in the studio and did some ironing with all the extra power the boat engine puts out while we're moving.

We arrived in New York in time for Independence Day, some nice fireworks, and the announcement of red as the RSC color of the month. Since then, I've been puttering away in the studio, doing little projects. I worked on my red blocks, made a couple secret project blocks, a whole bunch of miscellaneous crumb blocks, and some red, white and blue star blocks for Kat's latest Covered in Love drive. It's all felt rather patriotic.


We also had a major medical crisis with this little nubbin. After months of being away from any kind of veterinary care, she wisely waited until she was in The City That Never Sleeps to get sick. After two nights in an emergency animal hospital, she's recovering slowly from triaditis. Poor Angel, they shaved her belly for an ultrasound and she gets nasty medicines twice a day. But she hasn't used up all nine lives yet!


We are finally in a place where I can receive mail, so I had all our accumulated packages sent at once. I won a gift certificate to Stitch Stash Diva from Sandra's Playtime Plus QAL and bought these nice basics. At the top of the stack are two yards of black with subtle metallic polka dots, very fancy! Thank you so much to SSD and MMM for my PrizePrizePrize!


I also finally got to see my prize for participating in the Hands2Help charity challenge. This is a bundle of 30 super cute fat quarters from Moda. The fabric line is Hometown Christmas. Thank you so much, Sarah and Moda! All of Sarah's sponsors were so generous this year.


Karen of KaHolly sent me some orphan blocks, left behind after one of her friends passed away. They are about a half dozen machine appliqued flowers with beading details. Most of the charities I support ask that our quilts have no beads, buttons or other loose embellishments. So I'll remove the beads on these, clean them up a bit with some thread painting, and find a new home for them. They may end up with Quilts Beyond Borders. Thanks, Karen!


In addition to my freebies, two big boxes of fabric that I bought on eBay also arrived. This batch is all fun food themed pieces, including fruits, tea cups and silverware. Another box contained over 20 yards of bright blenders. After almost five months without fabric shopping, it was great to recharge the ol' stash. And it might be the season to celebrate the 4th of July, but it sure feels like Christmas here when all the boxes arrive!


Speaking of Christmas, Sarah is running her annual 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop and quilt along. The quilt she designed for the QAL really spoke to me, so I decided to join in. She shows it in several colorways, including classic green and red, patriotic RWB, and frosty winter blues. My pile of red scraps were already sitting out for RSC, so I decided to do an all scrappy version.


The pattern uses the Tri-Recs rulers that I already own. Here are the side triangles cut for the scrappy neutral background.


I decided to make my third color turquoise/teal/aqua. I don't really need another Christmas quilt, and while I really like the patriotic/QOV look of red, white, and blue, something about aqua and red together is just so bright and fresh. This was last month's color for RSC, so all my scraps were already neatly pressed and organized. After a few happy hours of trimming, I'm all ready for the next steps of the QAL.

21 comments:

  1. Sorry to see your kitty was sick same time mine was! She looks like she has the same soft gray fur as my bonnie cat. Enjoy your time in the Big Apple.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have never heard of triaditis, I had to look it up! So glad your baby was in the right place to get good care when she got sick and she's on the mend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I'm so pleased to read that Angel is settled in back home with you both, hope she continues to improve Louise. She looks nice and cosy in her bed and no doubt very happy to be back!
    What a shopping spree - I've been trying to hold on to my pennies but very tempted after looking online.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My goodness, it MUST seem like Christmas, every time you get your mail forwarded! Nice haul! You’re welcome for the blocks. I knew if anyone could work magic with them, it would be you! Sorry you have to take all the beading off, though. Thanks for the heads up about Christmas in July QAL. I’m pretty tempted, although I don’t need another project. But my goal this summer is to use up the odd collection of fabrics I’ve collected over the years, so I’m going to dig deep! A red and aqua scrappy quilt will look great! Glad your kitty is on the mend, poor baby.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh you lucky ducky on winning that big FQ pack!! And your Stash Diva $ too, you deserved it:) I am doing Sarah's quilt but a smaller size. I wondered how it would look in scraps so will be looking forward to seeing yours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad that your kitty is recovering well. You have lots of pretty and fun fabrics to play with now. Enjoy your stitching time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How awful for your kitty...and glad it was taken care of. What an ordeal with the meds.
    Love your mail deliveries...you must think it is Christmas with the packages. Fabric galore so I know you have lots of things to plan.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Isn't it fun when all the fabric arrives. Sort of like Christmas. You sound like you are having a fun and busy time of late and congratulations on the well deserved winnings. I'm glad the kitty is o.k.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm so glad that you were someplace where the kitty could be seen. That was good timing.

    How fun it must be to get all that mail at once. I know you will be putting it to good use.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hope your fur-baby is well on the mend now. How fun to get lots of packages all at once! and such wonderful goodies! So many possibilities, you'll be busy for months playing with them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It really is Christmas in July at your "house!" Lots of fun goodies! July is definitely the time to sew red, white, and blue - I was just working on some stars for Covered in Love myself. Your new quilt project with red and aqua will be fun to see! I like that color combination, too!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad the kitty is doing better. What a long ride, but it sounds like you got a few things done. Love the fun fabric from H2H and your other fun goodies. Hugs, Heide

    ReplyDelete
  13. I loved all your comments. So many kind followers. I always enjoy seeing what you are up to and how fun to get all your winnings and fabric at once! Enjoy!!! Can’t wait to see what you create!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was wondering when you'd be able to receive all your goodies that you won! What fun. Hope kitty makes a full recovery. Giving meds to cats is not a fun task - haha! Can't wait to see what you create with all that fun fabric!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sarah's new Christmas quilt along looks like fun. I haven't decided if I will try it yet, but red, white and aqua sounds like a great combo. Glad to hear Angel is improving.
    I saw on your husband's blog that you will be docking on Eastern Long Island in August. How far out will you be?

    ReplyDelete
  16. That Hometown Christmas looks pretty dreamy! So glad your helper has more lives left to boat with.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Totally agree with you on the red and aqua! I haven't looked at Sarah's quilt...afraid to, as I just cannot fit in another QAL. Temptation usually gets the better of me! WHAT a wonderful stack you won, wow! And great additions with the gc from SSD who has changed her name, did you see? Glad Angel is on the mend. Can't wait to see all the goodness you stitch up with all that cotton. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am glad kitty waited so you could get proper care. Right now my doggie is under the dining room table, refusing his morning walk - not sure what that means. Wonderful to see all your goodies arrive! Are you planning any time in Boston or Portland Maine? We have a quick trip to MN this weekend, but I am back Tuesday the 24th. Let me know if we can make out paths cross!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love your blog and your happy, beautiful quilts. As for my blog, thank you for commenting and forgive my inability to get organized enough to respond to comments. I appreciate them nonetheless! Happy boating and sewing! Your pictures are so interesting! (I looked at Our Odyssey, too, and enjoyed the fireworks photos.)

    ReplyDelete
  20. HI Louise ! Wow, what a fun shopping haul. Isn't it just the most fun to get new fabric and daydream about quilt designs and new projects ! We're so glad to hear that your kitty is on the mend and was close to good veterinary care when she became ill. Sending blessings and best wishes. We love reading about your adventures ! Marina and Daryl Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wonderful fabrics! Love the Hometown Christmas! Awesome to receive such a wonderful thank you! So glad kittie is okay.

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as I can.