Ground Hog Day

And here we sit, suddenly it is February!  We turned the page to a new month in anticipation and hope that THIS may be the time that life returns to "normal".

It could be like the scenes from the movie, Ground Hog Day.  The day keeps getting repeated over, and over and over, until the character finally makes a change.  At times it might be nice to have a "do over".  But in all reality... with each new day, we DO get a new chance.

A year ago Dave and I were blissfully planning for a trip to the beaches of Texas.  News stories were just ramping up with the doom, gloom and fear of the Corona Virus, not to mention the political mud-slinging that was going on.

On Valentines Day we made the decision to turn. off. the. TV.  Ok, well, maybe not turn off the TV, but turn off the NEWS!  We packed up our stuff and flew the coop.  We drove south to Texas... much of the time was "unplugged".  At first, it was a challenge... and then we settled in.  Cell service was in and out as we approached our destination.  But with "No Service" at all on the beach of Padre Island National Seashore, we sat and watched the surf.  We watched the birds, we walked and biked along the shore. We talked, we read, I quilted...  we collected shells, we watched the sunrises and sunsets with awe.

All this to say... I don't know what "normal" is.  Does anybody???  Erma Bombeck said it was a setting on a washing machine. LOL!  I say "Normal" is a setting on the dryer as well.

So as I review what I had on my (late) To Do List from last week I feel a bit like Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day...

❧  Paper Doll Quilt

❧  Commissioned T-shirt Quilts

I have made little progress on the Paper Doll Quilts... I have cut the background squares, but am awaiting the arrival of assorted skin color layer cake squares for the dolls, as well as fusible adhesive.  

I decided to make the dolls in two different sizes.  The one to the right are on 12 inch squares with the dolls being about 10 inches tall.  This one will be for Emma who will be 7 this summer.  

The one above is for Maggie.  She will be 5 this summer and I thought that it might be a little easier and more functional for her to have something not so tiny.  She has a collection of Barbie Dolls that live naked because she just cannot manage dressing them.  Each quilt will have a pocket to hold the clothes (encouraging organization) and while the same, they are different and there should not be any fights over outfits because they are different sizes and not interchangeable.  (That's the plan anyway 🤣)

I also am awaiting the arrival of the T-shirts from my customer.

I had determined on Friday afternoon, once I realized I was in a holding pattern, that I would write that final post for the Pieces From The Past Sew Along... only to awake on Saturday morning and find that our internet service was out.  The outage was area wide... Ok... but that wasn't going to stop me!  I resorted to MS Word and started typing.  I got a good portion of it written.  And when the wi-fi was restored, I was able to insert pictures and links as necessary.  I will let it rest for now, until it is time for a final review.

Speaking of Pieces... Block #19 will be released on Thursday!  Which means there is still time to get the pattern for The Double T Block and link up for the chance to win a free fat quarter.  Who doesn't need free fabric for their stash?!?

And because I wrote that post I rewarded myself by opening the Civil War reproduction fabric that I had purchased for my next sew along.

Progress is coming along with the planning.  The schedule of the sew along has been made.  I have 12 blocks selected (13 actually, because one will be the label for the quilt), and I have been reading the Memoirs of Marian Sloan Russell and taking notes.  There is plenty of "administrative stuff" to be done, but I won't bore you with those details.

❧  A few small final projects I'll be making this week are "Galentines Day" gifts for some close girlfriends.  We will be meeting for lunch on Thursday (fingers crossed that the weather is good) and it has far too long since we have been together.  I'll be making them as bookmarks, rather than key chains.

With that... I better get moving!

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along

that features vintage Kansas City Star quilt blocks!

Linking with:

Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting

To Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Stitch Sew & Show at Life in the Scrap Patch