Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

To continue the recap of the Maine Quilts exhibit, 

Rona 7 of the exhibit was a popular one 

A couple of different blocks were created and alternated then were set off well with the intricate border. This quilt was a favorite of many at the show.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~ 

Sunday’s sunset. 

Quilt Week

Carol here ~

As Dan mentioned in the blog last week we were partaking in a quilting get-together with friends at a rental property in Casco. We commuted as our house is only about 25 minutes from the rental. I went over most days for a few hours but came back home when I was tired.

The rental house is gorgeous and on Crescent Lake. I snapped a few photos to share with you.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here coming to you fireside Sunday evening. 

The weather man has been postponing the rain all day, first they said rain by 5:00, then later. Now they are saying 9:00 before it gets here. So I said to myself “might just as well have a fire until I get rained out”. I knew it was me cause I was outside all alone and besides I recognized my voice.

The Woodpile

Dan here ~

Me again, glad you’re back to read my rambling. My walking has been off this week I ended up with just under 46 miles for the week. This brings my year to just under 750 miles walked since December 31, 2020.

I have been raking and cleaning brush up by the septic system and relocating my woodpile. Why would anybody relocate their woodpile you ask?

Rona 14

Dan here ~

Rona 14 top is complete. I think I told you I was working on Rona 15 but we figured out it is really Rona 14.  Carol is already loading it on Lena.

I told you a little bit about how this one came about and if you have been following along I may be repeating a little. While looking through a bin at the storage unit I found the beginnings of a quilt that someone had started. When I showed the blocks to Carol, she said that our youngest daughter, Erin, had started it for a boyfriend that did not last as long as the construction process. She had completed a large stack of 9-Patch blocks and cut matching sized squares to go with them. 

I set out to design around what she had started and see if I could find something to liven it up a bit. I found a couple of decent sized pieces of the red and knew that it would frame the 9-patch blocks nicely. I had always loved that red fabric and I actually think I stashed those chunks in the bin for a later project. This one I guess.

Pearls and Paisley

Carol here ~

Happy Monday!

The days are getting longer and the sun is getting warmer! Even though winter is still hanging on you can definitely feel the difference in the air, especially if the sun is shining. Looks like we are to have some balmy temps coming up this week ~ which means mud walking and puddle jumping will be happening! Well, probably more puddle dodging than jumping for this old girl.

I’m seeing a lot of bare ground on the banking on the side the pond where the sun shines all afternoon.

Blowin' In The Wind

Dan here ~

This has been a cold week. There were days last week that the camp road was muddy and special attention was needed when a vehicle went by or else you would get splashed as they drove past. The last several days have brought us back into the frigid cold of winter. Vehicles approaching make a racket as their tires crunch the ice in the road. 

Yesterday was Thursday which meant that another week of walking is in the books.  This is this week’s stats.

This week brought my total miles for the year to 451.3 miles. I have accumulated just over 100 miles “in the bank” or put another way, I am just over 100 miles ahead of schedule. This means that if I wanted to I could refrain from walking for a little over 2.5 weeks and still be on schedule. Not too shabby, sure takes up a lot of my day though. Guess I really have little else to do so I’ll keep plugging along, supposed to be good for you, isn’t it?

Martha's Quilt

Carol here ~

After we received Lena Longarm's part and installed it, I loaded one of Dan’s smaller tops (Rona 9) to make sure she was happy and wanted to work.

Everything went well. I used a basic Digitized Edge to Edge pattern from Urban Elementz called COOL BEANS. 

This pattern stitches out beautifully and quickly, and I love the name of it. I will probably use this same pattern on Rona 9’s twin, Rona 8.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

We had an eventful weekend. We walked, we sewed, Carol got Lena Longarm back up and running. Lena’s part came back, was told that it was fine, put it back where it belonged and wired it up and it worked as it should. Guess she just wanted a vacation. Well Lena girl, there is a list of tops waiting for you.

Still plugging along with Rona 13. Did this one kind of backwards. Usually the block is what is time consuming. With this quilt top, the top is basic, a framed 9-patch block.
 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

How do Wednesday, I know that because yesterday was Tuesday and all is well.

We had a 4-5 inch snow storm Monday during the day and into the evening. It had been plowed when I got out of bed yesterday morning. The people who plow the driveway often do so between 1:00 and 3:00 in the AM. That’s in the morning. I am not awake nor does them performing their duties wake me. I often have just gone to bed. I sew at night. I do not get up early.

Carol saw a beautiful sunrise on Tuesday morning. I do not see many sunrises, it looked real pretty in the pictures. Real life was probably much nicer but I will live with the pictures.

More on Rona 10

Dan here ~

I got the top up to the border assembled on Rona 10 but haven’t decided on a border yet. After I visited last Friday I discovered that I had miscalculated. Well, to be honest, I actually was looking at the wrong set of numbers for the chain blocks. Back to the sewing machine to create 35 more chain blocks.

Rona 10 consists of 3 different blocks. Two of them are very similar with the third being a chain block. The two similar blocks both started with 3” finished blocks. Many of these had been made when I was puttering and cleaning up stash bins and playing at putting various shapes together to get 3” finished blocks. These blocks are made up of a variety of combinations. There are many V-block stars, 9-patch units, some friendship stars and many that just were assembled because I thought they looked cool. 

The Pond and Rona 10

Dan here ~

A couple nights ago while Carol and I were enjoying our hour or so of data consumption ~ probably what most of you call watching TV ~ we could hear the pond groaning and carrying on as the temperatures got colder. Then we heard a loud noise as we felt the house shake as if in the middle of an earthquake. Yesterday morning when I looked at the edge of the pond I could see where the ice had cracked and lifted. The forces of nature showing off it’s power.

I am plowing away on Rona 10, a good portion of the blocks have been created and soon I will need to begin the assembly phase of quilt making. Lots of pieces have been sewn together already. Luckily, most of the blocks were started from orphan 3” finished blocks.

Rona 9 Complete

Dan here ~

Rona 9 top is complete. For the most part it is the same as Rona 8, at least conceptually. The blocks were created the same way but many of the inner orphan blocks are different, making for a slightly different look.

Rona's 8 & 9

Rona 10 is following the starting phase of Rona's 8 & 9, using many orphan blocks framed  first with one of two lights, then the same dark grey as in Rona's 8 & 9. 

This grey and the two lights are using longarm backing leftovers from when Carol trims quilts. So technically, I guess I am still just using mostly scraps. To go with these blocks I am using a chain block.

There are a great many blocks (72 framed blocks and 71 chain blocks), these will take me a fair amount of time to fabricate. I’ll keep you posted and maybe show you a few teaser pictures next week.

My walks have been going great in this weird January weather. Lots of banking days (good bank days are days that I get over my 5.55 miles daily needed to achieve my goal of 2021 miles in 2021) Yesterday was Thursday so that means I am another week into the year. After 2 weeks I should be at 78 miles I am at a little over 105 miles. 

Kinda like diets ~ we’ll see how long I stick with it. No, I’m not on a diet, I have heard about them though. 😜

Have a good weekend ~ stay safe!

Technology

Dan here ~

One of the issues we have had to learn to live with in our retirement home is technology. Sounds easy…think again.

Usually when people think of where to go for internet it is their local telephone company. In the old days you move to a new location, you call your phone company to get a phone and later internet. We called, we can get a phone but no availability for internet. We don’t want a phone. We have cell phones.

We get notices in the mail from Spectrum all the time saying to call to get great deals on TV and Internet. (almost as often as I get phone calls about my auto warranty) They came out and said sorry, no way could we get service from them.

Internet is a necessity in today’s world of isolation.

Plugging Away

Dan here ~

I am still plugging away with Rona 9. There are three different “blocks” being used in this quilt top, where only two were used in Rona 8. That change along with changing the cornerstone and sashing color makes Rona 9 a companion to Rona 8.

I described two types of framed orphan blocks last post. I mentioned that I had thought of another way to frame the 3” finished orphans rather than attempting to put them on point and sacrificing some of the points. I decided to leave them as 3” finished blocks and frame them first with a light 3/4” framing border than another 3/4” framing border of the grey like the other 2 blocks.

Rona 9 In Progress

Dan here ~

I am currently still working with orphan blocks and small partially completed blocks and units. I am having fun and using up quite a few pieces of scrap.

Unfortunately, if I were to tell the truth, although I am using up quite a few pieces of scrap, the bins don’t appear to be receding very fast. 

First Finish of 2021

Dan here ~

While I waited the few days for my replacement fabric to arrive so I could finish Rona 7, I started Rona 8. I decided to reuse the concept of the 1-1/2” finished squares going around the framed blocks, like I used in Rona 7.

I started looking through the bins of pieces and scraps in the closet beside my sewing station. I see several edgings that Carol has deposited in my area to “dispose” of that came from when she trimmed a quilt. I also see a couple bins of leftover and orphan blocks.

Rona 8

The Saga of the 2-1/2" Squares ~ Part 2

Dan here ~

After ORDER IN CHAOS was created life became a barrier in my constant quilting. The packing and moving of two houses in Rangeley and the construction process that was described here kept me out of the sewing room. Why you ask? There was no sewing room as it was a construction mess.