Mail Call Monday - Cherie & Anchors Away

Welcome to another edition of Mail Call Monday!!  This post is a bit behind schedule, as Mondays have a way of slipping by without my noticing.

Here's the (brief) story...

I recently got an email from Cherie (formerly of) The Quilted Jonquil blog:

Hi Joy, 

Cherie here.  I'm wondering if the address below is still good for you.  If not, may I have your current address, please?

Thanks!

Cherie 

My reply:

Certainly, Cherie! We moved 3 years ago. Our new address is (details removed).

Thanks for changing your records! I hope you are doing well. What have you been up to lately?

Happy quilting!

Joy

Not many days passed...

In the interim, the interaction had me wondering what Cherie might have put in the mail for me.  On the day that Cherie's surprise arrived, my suspicions proved to be true:

The backstory...

Cherie once posted a thrifted shirt haul and I volunteered to take a variety off her hands.  She graciously mailed them to me.  You can read about that HERE.  Before that, we did a swap (in 2019) which you can read about in THIS POST.

Here is the card that arrive...

And the sweet little bundle of fabrics that came with it:

What you can't see from the somewhat blurry photo is that the fabric on top is a sweet little anchor print.  LOVE it!!  I'm looking forward to using it in something special in the not-too-distant future.

Thank you for thinking of me after all this time, Cherie, and it was sweet of you to send along some friends to accompany the main attraction!

Until next time...

Color me SEW surprised!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC24 - Week 46

Welcome to Week 46 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week, I'm afraid I might be singing the same old song.  No sewing going on.  Again.  If you are here for the quilting, you may be sorely disappointed.

Check out how my week went by...

SUNDAY - It started with my Weekly Morning Art Zoom.  I can't recall what I worked on, but later in the day, I participated in a co-create time with Wendy @willawanders on her YouTube channel.  I finally took the time to complete my final art experiment from Get Messy's Season of Experimentation.  The following pages in my Altered Book Journal were inspired by a reel from @hannahhh.mp on Instagram:

After an early dinner, I headed up to the studio for Collage Club.  I completed the following simple collage in my Get Messy Art Journal:

MONDAY - I'm always thankful for a holiday that falls on a Monday!  That meant there was time for coffee with a side of knitting.  This is the first chance that Tracy and I have gotten to catch up in quite some time:

After lunch, I was thrilled to be able to attend Curiosity Collective.  The nature-inspired lesson reminded me that I had plucked the last geranium leaf for stamping:

I also drew and painted flowers in hopes of catching up on Rae Missigman's lesson for Get Messy:

TUESDAY - I had a long-overdue hair appointment this morning...

And...

Ended my 8-day weekend two days early by going in to work on a corporate order for my office mate whose son is sick.  :o((

WEDNESDAY - Work

Afterwards, I enjoyed my Weekly Zoom call with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

THURSDAY - Work

A quick stop at the grocery store on the way home scored a butternut squash for the pot of soup shown below.  DH coined the term "dessert soup" to describe the flavor:

FRIDAY - Work

Pizza for dinner was followed by my Weekly Evening Art Zoom.  I worked on pushing back the words inside my latest Altered Book Journal with copious coats of gesso.  Nothing photo worthy, but Britt and I stayed after for a few minutes to plan tomorrow's ARTventure:

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I hope you will join me in visiting Angela @ So Scrappy to see what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week.  There's no scrappy quilting to share this week...

Knittingsuek and I postponed our Weekly Zoom call so that I could go to Britt's today.  (Thanks, Sue!)  When I should have been putting the final touches on my blog post, I was off and away for a bit of art.  We watched a couple of video tutorials and worked on the Week Three journal for No-Sew November.  Mine is a memory zine from this years TWO trips to Rhode Island and Britt's is more like Meg's:

Whoops!  My post ended up not being scheduled for release.  I'm releasing it as if it were done on time in order to maintain the proper flow of the blog.  Sorry!  Life got in the way this week.

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC24 - Week 45

Welcome to Week 45 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week, I thought I might sew on my TABLE SCRAPS Challenge project for this month.  Will that happen?

Read on to discover the truth...

SUNDAY - Weekly Morning Art Zoom found me decorating the No Sew journal that I made with paint chips yesterday afternoon:

Apparently, it took 2 days to develop a rash from my latest Covid shot.  By evening the itch was driving me insane!  Thankfully, this is the first time I've had this reaction and hopefully the last:

MONDAY - Work

After work, I raced home to make it to my Zoom with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

TUESDAY - Work

I was wrong about last week's rose being the last one of summer!  Our recent warm weather has coaxed yet another fine specimen out of my plant:

WEDNESDAY - Day Off!!

Let's try this, again...  It's the 1st day of my 8-day weekend!!  What???  It sure would have been nice to know ahead of time.  I might have planned to go somewhere besides the grocery store! Sigh...  The "dirt parade" continues in the new section up the street.  What the following photo doesn't show are the 3 trucks I passed on the way out of my neighborhood and the 2nd truck that was turning onto the road, as I waiting for the light to change:

THURSDAY - Weekly Quilt Group

I was there, but I can't prove it because I forgot to get a group picture!!!  :o((

After lunch...

I filled my time with art.  I'm starting Treasure Trovember from Kelly @ Collage Lab and completed Days 1 - 7 on the collage shown below.  The prompts were to add the following... a grid, a building, something that flies, stripes, a crowd, pink, and a word:

Apparently, my rose bush isn't done blooming yet.  ANOTHER bud popped out and opened today:

FRIDAY - I skipped Knit Group this morning because I had a 10AM art class. It was called Rae and the Season of Binding...

I made this journal page using watercolor for the swatching and floral elements & acrylic for the stenciling and color wheel elements:

Once dinner was done, I went up to the studio for my Weekly Evening Art Zoom. I worked on decorating my 2 latest No-Sew Journals inspired by Meg Journals' No Sew November challenge.  This is the first year she's offered it and it's been interesting thus far:

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I hope you will join me in visiting Angela @ So Scrappy to see what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week.  I think I caught up with most participants this week.  At the very least, I did better than I sometimes do.  :o))

Here's the only sewing that MIGHT take place this week...

But first, it was time for my Weekly Zoom with Knittingsuek:

This afternoon, I finally set some time aside to watch a video stepping me through the process of Judy's Magic Cast-On and now my latest pair of socks has been started:

That wraps up this week.  With a number of extra days off work, I'm hoping that next week may include a fair amount of sewing.  Only time will tell.

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC24 - Week 44

Welcome to Week 44 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week was filled with work, errands and meetings.  I'm guessing you are here to see the quilting.  If so...

You might have to look really hard, as my attention was elsewhere...

SUNDAY - The day began with my Weekly Morning Art Zoom.  I worked on filling my "mark" book with additional pages of art marks:

Later, I noticed the last rose of summer is fading fast:

MONDAY - Work

Due to conflicting schedules, this week's Zoom with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color occurred just after I got home from work today.  Boy, was it ever good to catch up after two weeks of not chatting:

TUESDAY - Tidy Up Tuesday

Work

Construction Update...

The "Dirt Parade" has resumed at the smaller neighborhood addition down the street.  Loads and loads of dirt have to be brought in prior to beginning to build:

WEDNESDAY - Day Off

It's the first day of my 5-day weekend!!  :o))

What's on tap for today, Joyful???

It's errand day.  The list includes a trip to the bank, a stop at my favorite coffee shop for a Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll, and a bit of grocery shopping.

The first stop was supposed to be to drop a small load of decluttered items off at Goodwill, but they were closed in order to pack stuff for their move to a new location.  Between the coffee shop and the grocery store I won the voting lottery!  The wait was 10 minutes (max!)  There were only 8 people in line ahead of me when I walked into the polling place:

THURSDAY - Happy Halloween!!!

It's the 2nd day of my 5-day weekend and I've got another full day planned.

I had hoped to attend my Weekly Quilt Group, but the timing was too tight, as I had planned to meet my SIL in Greensboro for tea and an art chat at Vida Pour Tea:

I had some time between that and time to be in Hillsborough later so I stopped at a shop that I noticed around the block from the tea shop:

I stopped at Britt's before our Monthly Evening Quilt Bee meeting and very nearly forgot to get a group photo until we were all on our way out the door:

FRIDAY - The Guest Blogger(s)

Day 3 of my 5-day weekend!!  Sigh... I got called in to work today.  As it turned out, Knit Group was canceled, so I didn't miss the meeting.  Whew!  I feel like I've missed more than I've attended recently.  :o((

Welcome to November!!  Can you believe that my azalea bush still looks like this???  It is one of my three favorite plants that came with this property and this is why:

Later, I captured this photo for my friend Dee Dee.  She gave me those happy daisies and the little pink flowers were a surprise bonus.  I decided to share them here, as well:

After dinner, I enjoyed my Weekly Evening Art Zoom.  I worked on finishing the collage I started at Britt's house last night:

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  Unfortunately, Angela @ So Scrappy forgot to add the party to her post.  I'll miss seeing what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week. (UPDATE:  Party has begun!)

I wanted to share the following from a couple of comments last week...

Chantal of At the Corner of Scraps and Quilts blog wanted to see what the back of my scrappy Circle Denim quilt looked like.  I attached the following photo (of one portion of it) to my reply to her comment, but thought others might like to have a look, as well:

Jeanne from Loving Retirement wanted to know how big my Circle Denim quilt was and said that it looks huge.  Well friends, it IS huge!  I hadn't measured it, but will to that now.

Drum roll, please!!!

The quilt measures 86 inches square.  It weighs nearly NINE POUNDS (and it's not finished yet!!!)  It currently weighs 8.8 lbs. to be exact:

It covers our king size bed with about a 3" drop on the sides.

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

The Guest Blogger(s) - Vol. 57 - Jane Finds a Lost Cat

Welcome to another edition of The Guest Blogger(s)!!  I heard from Jane in Australia yesterday.  She has completed her entry for the October TABLE SCRAPS Challenge.

Here is what she had to say about it...

Hi Joy,
Well, it is Nov 1st here, so I have probably missed the deadline for October, but maybe it is still October where you are!

I had resigned myself to missing this prompt as well as last month, but I have been making a few samples of projects for the sewing day with the Guides and Brownies in January, and… Lo and behold, there on my table is a piece of stripe with some brown, and a strip of blue with 2, yes 2, French cats. Was meant to be, and now a hour or so later, here is a placemat.

We are offering the girls a tote bag, a drawstring bag, a placemat, a cushion cover, a coin purse and a small stuffed heart  , and will have “kits” ready for those who want to sign up.

Trust you are well, haven’t even had time lately to read any blogs, will catch up as soon as I get a breather.
Scrappy hugs, Jane

I replied:

You're not too late at all, Jane! The Link Party is open through Wednesday of next week. SEW glad that one of your class projects doubled as an entry for the October TABLE SCRAPS Challenge! It sounds like the girls will have a lot of fun with your project offerings.

Happy quilting! 

Joy

Give Jane some quilty love in the comments below.  I'm thrilled to share her sample placemat entry with all of you.  I know that you enjoy seeing her work as much as I do!  Thank you for sending the photo for the blog, Jane.  It's lovely to be able to post your projects (and anyone else's without a blog.)  Quilters are always looking for ways to USE the scraps from our cutting tables!

Link Party REMINDER...

The October 2024 TABLE SCRAPS Link Party opened on  Friday, October 25th @ 12:01 AM.  There's still time for YOU to join the scrappy fun, even if you haven't started sewing yet!  Small projects are quick and entries can be added until Wednesday, November 46h @ 11:59 PM (EDT).

Until next time...

USE those (table) SCRAPS!!!

2024 Pedal Pushers Retreat - Other Attendees' Projects

WARNING!!!  PHOTO HEAVY POST!!!

Welcome to another edition of Tidy Up Tuesday here at The Joyful Quilter blog!!  I'm here to share what other attendees of the Pedal Pushers Retreat worked on last week.  While attendance was down, there was no shortage of quilt projects to be inspired by!

Here's how the week progressed...

Monday - LOST!!!  Almost everyone who arrived had some trouble getting up the mountain.  The last part of my directions were incomplete/incorrect.  I arrived a half-hour later than expected, but remarkably, was only the 3rd person to arrive.  The last person dragged in nearly an hour later that I did!

Everyone got started on their projects upon arrival...

The only person to finish something was Tiffany.  Here she is with her new crossbody bag:

Tuesday - Day Two

Today she finished her new Kaffe jacket:

C2 had a date with Jack (the seam ripper) because she wasn't happy with her project from last year's retreat:

Tracey completed this quilt top, but didn't have enough of the border fabric to finish:

This was the place to find C2, morning, noon, and night:

Wednesday - Day Three

Tracey finished the top of her "Circle" quilt:

Annette showed off her completed quilt from last year's retreat:

Tiffany's hot tip of the day...

Apply double stick tape for zipper placement:

Carol finished the panel quilt for her border class:

Thursday - Day Four

Tiffany completed a zippered bag for gifting:

Tracey got as far as she could get on this quilt using rulers from Studio 180 Designs and will add the final borders when she gets home:

C2 brought this quilt for some added borders:

Controlled scrappy for a happy quilter:

Tracey machine basted her Hawaiian applique project:

Annette pieced blocks for a donation quilt:

Here is Tracey with one of her four blocks:

Tiffany completed another zippered bag.  This one is her class sample:

Tracey contemplated her final project on the design floor:

C2 seems happy with her scrappy borders:

Tracey packed up her machine and switched to her hand applique project...

While Carol worked on getting the ribbon borders assembled for her Elephant quilt and by the end of the night, they were ready for the custom fit inner borders...

And C2's quilt top was complete:

Friday - Day Five

Tiffany captured one more sunrise photo:

I grabbed a photo of her "car quilt" because I love it so and would like to make one of my own... someday:

While I missed the full group photo, I did get the last three quilters left at the lodge:

It was a wonderfully productive week and I was pleased to be welcomed back for the third year in a row.  Special thanks to Karen and Becca for making our stay comfortable!  If you missed it, you can find my projects in last weekend's ScrapHappy Saturday post.

Until next time...

RETREAT!!!