A small finish

Another I-Spy quilt for a new church baby.  This did not take long to piece because I had a tin of four-inch blocks already cut. Sashing strips needed to be made, but by this past Sunday, the border had been added. I went shopping for batting on my way home from church. I am very sorry that thinsulate is no longer  in local shops, because I like it best. Yuzawaya had an assortment of samples I could choose from, but only two were large enough for this quilt. My first choice was not available but they might be able to order it. Well, how long might that take? I decided to buy the higher loft, just right at 150cm x 125cm. polyester 92% rayon 8%, and unlike the rest  of what they had, was not "iron on". (KSP-120-NP) and the bag says "Owl's Mama". 

Anyway, I found it a bit thick and hard to quilt through. I think my stitches were around five to the inch, and the resulting finish is a lot puffier than I usually get. Of course the baby getting this will not be comparing it with other of my quilts.

 

Now, all I need to do is add a label and find a bag to put it in. Sunday I will pass it to  its new owner or leave it in the office for the family to pick up.

The rest of the week I will plan the leaves for the 150th anniversary signature quilt.  I figure that if I make them oval and pointed at both ends, I will be able to arrange them either left or right on the vine.

The day started out quite sunny and nice. It was warm and had been predicted to get warmer, but by the time I went to the park for a photo shoot, it became cloudy and windy with a slight chill. I sure am glad my job is not predicting the weather!

OOPS!

 A month  has flown, and what do I have to show for it?   Not a whole lot!

I have been working slowly on the banner for the church's 150th anniversary. I joined all the signatures I collected at the 140th celebration, and April 9th, we had a whole day kick off for this year's anniversary. It was at church, beginning with a half hour of meditative organ music, then a history presentation by our current pastor, then a whole day discussions by former pastors, members, Taize and prayers for Ukraine, etc., ending with a program by the youth, ending around 5:pm, then replayed on line. 

I had added segments around the border for members to sign, and after the first hour, took the work to the basement fellowship hall where I could quilt and take signatures.

By now I have quilted all the floral areas and the signature areas, I don't think I have enough spaces to add more signatures (about 30) and am wondering what to do next. I had been planning to quilt in vines in the open spaces, but now thinking if I added vines with leaves, people could sign those leaves ... or perhaps just mark and cut leaves, let people sign them, then applique them on later, I did that for a friend's wedding quilt, adding the leaves to a vine. Any ideas out there?

An additional project is this table runner as a thank you th our associate pastor for youth, who will be leaving back to the states at the end of the month. At this point, all I have left to do is quilt in the bible verse around the border. These are just more floral scraps, and the verse is; To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

The pattern is "bento box" and I like the floral prints that represent our very diverse congregation. No calories in the bento box, but a bit of food for thought. My daughter suggested a tenugui with children for the backing, but this is just too wide to use one of those or even yukata fabric. I did have enough of a Japanese print with beckoning cats, daruma, paper cranes, and the like all over. Maybe I could have pieced blue and white fabric for the backing, making it reversible, but that would have made the quilting rather difficult.

There have been LOTS of online meetings each week. Scouting has had Eagle boards of review, district board meetings, and Council executive board meetings, plus training, My Cub Scout pack has met in person. We had a shrine hike on Sunday afternoon.

Church meetings for outreach committee, Communication committee, Stewardship committee, Women's Conference three Saturday mornings in a row, plus regular morning meetups Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,  and several other meetings during the week. The thing I really miss is choir, and that will probably be the last thing to return.

There have been community things too. I met friends the last Sunday in March to go to a quilt show in Tokyo. This was to replace the now past history Tokyo Dome Show. Mostly the work of well known quilters, with many things seen in the past, and no pictures allowed. It was a three day show with vendor's included, but the best part was meeting with friends in person. Hopefully the Yokohama quilt show will take place this fall. 

Other than quilting, time moves on. Plenty of church events. Last week was a wonderful ballet of the messiah. I try to take time out to visit my friend living in a senior care home without many opportunities for speaking in english. Sometimes my daughter goes with me. And, of course, Monday mornings are still out early for onigiri delivery to the homeless. 

I spend time tidying up, and about the time things are looking better, I sit down to do something and can't find what was right here before I did the tidying... then I mess up everything looking for that item.  It seems every day is about the same, and without reminders, I might forget which day it is.

So, that's about it. If I didn't have friends to worry about my silence, I might have let another month slip by. Thanks Kitty!