Hello - waving royally - The Queen of the UFOs is in the room!

 I belong to Stashbusters online.  And we have an UFO challenge contest every year,  you finish UFOs to go to the bottom of the list.  There is usually around 70 participants.  

As other quilters go to the bottom, you work your way up.  There's a few Ladies In Waiting and a Queen of  UFOs.  (This is not really an honor!!)  

I just got an email last night that I've actually been Queen since Monday!!!  During your reign of 1 week, if you finish an UFO you can abdicate the throne; descend to the dungeons and start working your way up again.   IF you do not finish an UFO during your reign, you must mail a FQ to the royal treasury.  It's not the FQ that bothers us, it's the shame of not finishing the UFO. After you send in the FQ you do go down the list to the dungeons.

Here's what I've written to my loyal subjects so far:

Wednesday:  Arrrg!  I've just found out I'm the Queen of the UFOs ... Since

Monday???  Your royal highness is so sorry to leave my royal subjects 

without guidance.  Oops!  I’m pretty sure that I’ll be mailing a FQ pretty

 darn soon!  I just finished “Wild Thing - I think I love you” BUT alas, it’s 

not an UFO - it was started during quarantine!  Quarantine just seems like 

it’s been years!!  It really hasn't been years, at least not yet!!

More assignments, royal edicts and babbling will be forthwith tomorrow!!!

Queen doni @ Oregon coast, humbly asking for your attention at this late 

date!!!

Thursday:

Ahem - waving royally - the Queen is in the room.  A little history on your queen:  I’ve been quilting since 1974 [gasp – that IS a long time!] My grandma quilted but not by the time I came along – she was hemming diapers for the Red Cross by then because her eyes had failed.  Besides, I was too much of a tomboy to bother learning to sew from her!  My great-grandmother on my dad’s side ran a house for ‘girls in trouble’.  She kept them busy with piecework – and I’ll tell you, they were NOT passionate about it!  I found some really odd scrap quilts that were poorly made – but immediately fell in love with them.  From then on –scrap patchwork has been my favorite type of quilting! 

Here is "Wild Thing - I think I love you!"  top.  It was quilted by L, a longarmer here in Brookings.  "Finished" picture still to be taken!

 

My first quilt was 2 sheets tied together – after I made a simple frame.  Don't laugh!  My children are still using them and they have definitely stood the test of time.  Then – well, would you believe, a queen sized bedspread of baby blocks [tumbling blocks] set in a pyramid!!  I was sure it would be oh-so--much cheaper than that $200 bedspread!! LOL!!  I was simply too dumb to know it was beyond my reach!  AND my MIL’s quilting group hand quilted it with a bed sheet back!  Poor ladies!

Here is my 'booth' as Valuable Guild Member in 2018.  You can see the Tumbling Blocks quilt on the right.  Everything in the booth was made by ME!  The fabric postcards hanging on a ribbon on the right, the Nautical Stay Robin, the silk screened lighthouses of Oregon.  The Pies and Tarts on the back table and "Cat Bellies" on the side table!  Yes, that is a green bungee chair.  My good friend P loaned it to me and I charged everyone who wanted to try it out $1 - to the cookie sale just across from me!!!  The cookie chair decided she always wanted to be near me - where ever I am!!

I have learned a thing or two since then,  and forgotten a lot of information I wish I could remember.  I still love scrappy.  The more the merrier!  I'm not a 'neat sewing space' type of person!  

And you have to be a really good friend to be willing to share a table with me - I don't work well in captivity!!

One time, a friend was coming over to quilt.  We have a LARGE dining room table that seats six.  To be funny I ran a piece of masking tape at the 2/3 for me, 1/3 for you mark.  BUT the joke was on me - by the time my friend arrived, I was already spread across to her side of the table!

Ladies, start your engines, errr, sewing machines!  I will give an edit about the weekend tomorrow!

Queen doni @ Oregon coast

Foggy August Days!! but not complaining!

 When the valley across the mountains from us gets HOT, we get fog.  They've been up in the 90s - 100s for the last month.  And although we typically get some sun each day, the fog has been pretty tricky this week.

Last night it was beautiful at sunset, DH and I were sitting on the deck having martinis(!)  Something new we started during quarantine!!  And I spotted a whale!  There is an island close to our beach - Rainbow Rock Island.  And the whale was between the beach and the island!  I don't know if he was really BIG or just looked big because he was so close!  Either way, it was a thrill.  I'll take a picture of our view looking North - if the fog ever lifts!

And don't think that it was just the Lemon Drop martini talking!  We both saw it, spouts spouting for hours!!!  No we were not drinking for hours, but after we had lasagna for dinner, I went back out to see if he was still there - he was!

Just like dogs ... people tend to refer to whales as he or she.  I think that depends on which sex your dogs were / are.  I always call them 'he' but a good friend calls them 'she'.  We try to convert each other to the other pronoun, but no luck so far!

Last night I finished binding "Wild Thing - you make my heart sing"!  You remember the X-plus blocks I made during quarantine.  (picture of blocks on the design wall.)  Someone, when seeing it, asked if it was for a child?  Nope, just made by a 68 year old child!!!  A Grandkid might get it eventually ... but tonight it's going on my side of the bed!!

I've been going to our outdoor pool faithfully all summer.  It had a late start, but we've been holding water aerobics classes.  There's a lot of hoops to jump thru ... wearing masks everywhere but IN the pool.  Temperatures taken each morning.  Outside entrance and outside shower.  I miss the changing room.  But so glad to be there, my knees are much happier.  For those of you concerned, our county has only had 19 cases.  The lowest covid count county on the Oregon coast. And we are fighting to keep it that way. :>

Pictures coming,  really, I promise!!

Some more quilt stories that are my favorite

Blogspot has changed photo selection - Arrrgh!  But I found this wonderful photo of my Great Niece N and Granny (my mom).  N is back home after a hospital stay.  I know Granny is watching over her - their spirits are so alike.  God bless you, N.

When I started making QOV, I thought, "Well, this is a good program, but I've got veterans in my life that I want to make a quilt for first.  My DBIL was one of the first 3 recipients.  I was afraid that it wouldn't go over well, but of course, it did.  He loved his quilt.  And we love him!

A spring challenge (loosely interpreted!)  It now belongs to our local Habitat.  They hang it at their Annual Garden Tours!  Can you find the bunny?

This little scamp moved in and used the wall quilt I was binding as her new quilt when I went to make her bottle!!  Mom and Dad's Blue and White wedding quilt on the back of the couch.

Reminisce by Lori Smith.  Challenging but oh-so-worth-it!!!  Scrap Happens, our Lincoln NE small group all made the border blocks to exchange.  We didn't all finish at the same time, but the ones that were ready (a year past deadline!) hung in our guild show.  Exciting to see them all in a row!  And no - they did not look alike, in fact, we couldn't convince some people they were all from the same pattern!

 

I love this July wall quilt.  I adapted a pattern, to make it bigger and I love it.

We used the Blue and White wedding quilt pattern to make a "get well soon" quilt at South Shore in Newport.  Fun working with  non-sewers.  But it turned out awesome!  Tied, not quilted for comfort.

Starry Starry Night.  Variation of a Red Wagon pieced star.  I was laying this one out at a small group quilt meeting in Lincoln NE.  I had all the stars lined up all in a row and MJ, a neighbor looked at it and twisted a star, and I almost fainted!!  But she convinced me they 'twinkle' when mixed up.

A challenge at the Brookings guild.  We all wrote a technique and each month we pulled one out of a lunchbag!  We started with a center block, then drew paper piecing, applique, words, triangles and squares!!  My friend had a new embroidery machine and sold me these lovely vintage nautical blocks that are in the top and bottom borders.  The poem adapted by a poem, 'If You've Ever Lived on a Island' embroidered around the center:

If you ever lived by the ocean; if you ever lived by the sea,

When you return inland, your spirit will have been set free.

If ever you've heard the sea gulls, the waves,a foghorn, the winds,

then you've heard the song of the ocean and the peace it sends.  ... so true!

A flying challenge at Brookings.  I asked my Grandkids what should be on it.  Airplanes, obviously, birds, bees, hot air balloons ... then we got silly!  The house from 'Up', Superman, Mary Poppins ...  Most of these are cancelled stamps, some pictures of stamps (there was a deadline!)  Blocked with very heavy boxes sitting on top of it - because it couldn't be washed, of course!

Leftover blocks from A&J's wedding quilt.  I sewed them up and used it as a charity quilt for Soroptimists!

Mr D with his big boy bed quilt.

Next time ... back from the quilter ... The PlusX Covid quilt!!  How Exciting!!