Not too much to post about.

 Thanks to a great kindness, the "Big-Girl" quilt has met up with my granddaughter in Colorado. Our Pastor's wife was travelling to California, and offered to take the quilt with her and mail it from there, thus saving all the problems faced with mailing anything larger than a  letter from here to the states. I got a facetime call at the time and could enjoy Maile hugging her quilt.

This quilt was finished on the 9th of this month. It is not heavily quilted, as I wanted it to be a bit puffy and thus warm. With thinsulate batting, I don't have to worry about shifting. It has been passed to my friend on Sunday, the 13th when we could meet up in person at church.

Next on my list is the banner for our church's 150th anniversary. I started a while ago sewing the signature blocks together. Those were collected at the 140th anniversary and joined using my vast collection of floral prints. 

I separated the large and small signatures into two halves, and have added a blue sky between. Now I am busy adding a garden in the blue area.

This was probably not the smartest move, because it is somewhat difficult to be appliqueing stuff in the middle of a large space without catching in surrounding fabric.

Also, it is a bit of pick and choose when it comes to selecting flowers to add.

I thought moving along by season might work.

Well, I got in a few camellia and plum blossoms.....

Now it is cherry blossom season, so I added a branch and some petals.

I'm finding this is really going too slow, and I have upped the challenge.

Our church is having a "Kick-Off Celebration" on the 9th of next month. It will be a 24 hour, partly in person, and livestreamed  for those not going in person and former members living around the world.

By then, I would like to have the rest of the garden planted and blooming, and a border added with more strips to be signed. Then, I want to get it basted for quilting and take it to work on that day, while gathering a few more signatures

from those attending.  If I add a piano key border, I think it will become too wide, but maybe a white one-inch strip all around could accommodate more signatures. 

Here is a picture of it, spread out on my sofa. (too big for the floor space). I sketched more flowers on the tracing paper, hoping to fill a bit more of the space in the middle.

I hesitate to add too much detail, as this will be the hardest part to fill.
 

Kerria, 

          Hydrangea, 

                            Lilies,

                                      Roses.....

Maybe I could add a bird or another butterfly...

So, this will be next on my list.

I hate deadlines, but this is a bit self-imposed. 

I hope I can pull it  off in a timely fashion. I certainly an still open to suggestions.

Guess I'd better stop dithering, and get to work!

Where has time gone?

Maile's Big-girl quilt was finished on Valentines day. It is a bit difficult to find a fence area large enough for a picture, as any sunny area has lots of crossing shadows or the fence is too small. These days there is a lot of wind to add to the challenge as well.

 I am fairly happy with the results and the light blue bias binding worked well. I still need to add a label, but it will be some time before I can get this sent to Colorado.

The backing is all tenugui and yukata fabrics. Since the finished quilt is square, there is no top end, so I turned the prints in every direction. Two "Girls Day" (Hinamatsuri) prints remind me of that first granddaughter.

Having taken out lots of yukata fabrics from my stash, I began to realize I have way more than I can ever use. I started sorting it into categories and have one box of large strips. Another container of medium pieces and samples I was given many years ago. 

Then... Having used these fabrics in a number of quilts over the years, I found LOTS of cut pieces and scraps. Some of those, I decided to put together in a small throw for a friend.

This is now in the quilting stage. I am just quilting in the ditch to begin with and thinking what to do next.

It is basted, so I don't need to use a hoop, which goes somewhat faster. The center squares are three and a half inches and the batting is thinsulate so won't shift with use. I am debating quilting within those squares or leaving them puffy and warm.

I plan to use a karakusa design around the cranes. This friend teaches tea ceremony and is an expert on Japanese traditions. She has also been very generous in her friendship over the past years. I am hoping this will be something she will like and use.

The days seem to drag by with little change. No decorations went up at Christmas or New Years. Valentines day was just another day here, except for a giant basket of flowers coming from my kids,

and no  Hina dolls went out to celebrate Girls day. The plum tree we planted to celebrate my first daughter's birth, has been very slow to bloom this year, and the Sweet Daphne we planted for daughter #3 has taken the clue and late to bloom too. Junk piles up on my coffee table and each day seems like the last. 

Now it is the season of Lent.

I will celebrate with a haiku for the day.

As with a compass

May the needle in my hand

Keep me right on course.