Covid Stay-at-Home Quilts for Operation Shower

Since stay-at-home recommendations went into effect last April, I've had time to make donation quilts for Operation Shower. OS provides baby showers to expecting military families, some of whom are deployed far from family and friends. The quilts I've made since April have now all gone to my guild's OS coordinator who will deliver them to OS for me. 

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

Making these gave me something to do and kept me out of trouble throughout most of the stay-at-home time. The November finish was squeaked in recently between tasks associated with moving, but I wanted it finished and out to Operation Shower rather than have to move a UFO and ship it back later. 

If I had to be stuck at home, I'm glad I was able to use the time productively. Bonus for me - I got to play with my stash and have the pleasure of creating these little quilts. 

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Moving Right Along

 We visited our new house last week and I love it. We're excited and looking forward to the Pebble Creek lifestyle! 

Meanwhile, cleaning, organizing and downsizing are frantically going on at our STL house. Also everything associated with listing our house and getting ready to move. Overwhelming!!!

As part of the cleaning and downsizing, I sent a big yellow bag of orphan blocks, pieces and parts to Louise of Quilt Odyssey. She's a wizard at making beautiful quilts from cast-off bits and pieces. I weighed the bag and it came to more than 6-1/2 pounds! 

The other boxes went to CiL (see last week's post) and QBB. During Covid times QBB needs quilts for US kids in foster care, especially older kids. I asked if they could take my unquilted tops along with backings and bindings and get them finished, and they said yes. So two more UFOs have gone to new homes where they can be finished and donated to kids in foster care. 

One is Sports Plus, which I put together at retreat a couple years ago and never got around to finishing. The prints featuring bicycles, footballs, basketballs, baseballs, and soccer balls are perfect for an older boy. I sent a grey and orange print for the backing and a black & white print for the binding. 

The other was pieced earlier this year during my obsession with strips. I hope these sunny colors will cheer up an older girl. I sent yellow striped flannel (gifted by a friend for use in a donation quilt) for the backing, and olive print binding that matches some of the strips. 

So here's the moving update: The St. Louis house will be listed next week with showings to start on Friday. We close on the new house Dec. 4. DH is researching insurance. I'm researching moving companies and getting estimates from them, which means a walk-through with each agent to input our inventory into their estimate form. We're also up to our eyebrows in Docu-Sign paperwork. 

The carpet cleaner did his thing earlier this week. The photographer comes Monday so we have to finish getting the house fluffed and buffed and ready for its photo shoot. DH has washed all the windows and scrubbed the basement floor and power washed the outside of the house. I've cleaned all the woodwork, baseboards, doors and doorframes, etc.  We've been sorting items to be moved and items to be left behind. We've made arrangements with an estate seller to take everything we don't want to move. 

We go to bed worn out each evening, but we're definitely seeing progress. 

Linking up with Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Donations for CiL

 More downsizing and clearing out of stuff has resulted in a couple of UFOs going to new homes. These two went to Covered in Love hosted by Kat and Cat Quilts. 

Olive Basket Weave: these blocks were made by the Sew Bee Its last time I handed out. They knew they were making blocks for a donation quilt. Along with this top, I sent backing fabric and binding strips. The backing is the same low volume newsprint print used in the blocks and the binding is a very dark purple. 

Keep Positive: I always enjoy making Plus quilts because it's all about the fabrics. This was also always intended to be a donation quilt, but it didn't get finished in time for last spring's Hands 2 Help quilt drive. I sent backing and binding for this one, too. The backing is grey Grunge and the binding is the last of the Paddington Bear print that I had. 

I had the pleasure and entertainment of designing and piecing these tops. They fulfilled their purpose for me. They were both always intended for donations. I'm so glad I was able to send them to someone who can finish them and give them to families losing loved ones. 

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Alycia Quilts.

Big Changes Coming

 Hello Quilty Friends, 

Big changes are coming around here. Usually I post a finish for Whoop Whoop Friday, but today I'm whooping for another reason. 

As I've mentioned here before, we have long planned to move to Arizona when DH retired. Our plans to buy a new home were interrupted in March by the pandemic, but we've continued to watch the real estate listings in our preferred community, Pebble Creek in Goodyear AZ. We've seen enough listings to know the right one when it comes along. Well, the right one popped up last week. 

Photo Credit MLS #6153129

We knew it would go quickly so we had to decide right away whether to pursue it or not, especially during Covid times. We decided to go for it, and our offer was accepted. Whoo-hoo! 

Now we're up to our eyebrows in Docu-Sign paperwork, and planning for inspections, etc.. Very stressful! 

We've been in our current house for 35 years. We've accumulated a lot of stuff over that time, and over the last couple of years I've been working on sorting, decluttering, and downsizing. Now those efforts are in high gear. 

We're talking with the local realtor in the next few days about when to put our house on the market. I'm sure there are still some things we need to do to get the house ready, although we've done all the painting and sprucing up she suggested last March. 

With all this going on, I won't have much time for quilting or blogging. I don't expect to be able to keep up my schedule of posting 2-3 times a week for awhile, but I'll keep in touch when I can. 

This is hugely exciting for DH and me. We've been looking forward to the Pebble Creek lifestyle and the opportunity to travel in the West for a very long time, and now it's really going to happen.  Even during the pandemic. 

Wish me luck! 

Link up: Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Spinning Blocks

The last Operation Shower baby quilt was made in boy colors, so now it's time for one in girl colors. I had kitted this one up earlier to take on vacation with me, and since my vacation was cancelled, I figured I should just go ahead and finish it up. 

Some spinning blocks in this sweet girly print:

And more blocks in some coordinating coral pinks from stash:

This could turn out cute. 

Link ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Love Laugh Quilt

October Stash Report and Goals Update

The stash report looks good this month. The goals, not complete but that's okay. I did have two finishes for the month, and that's good. 

October Stash Report: 

IN this month: Zero, zilch, nada. 

Out this month: 7-1/2 yards (LCT Backing, 3-3/4 yards. Tiny Guitar Picks Plus, 2 yards for top, 1-3/8 yards for back, 3/8 yards for binding.)

IN YTD: 101-3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 121-3/8 yards

YTD Net Change: 19-5/8 yards out

Goals Update:

October Recap: 

1. Quilt and finish the LCT quilt. DONE and hung on the wall in the family room hallway.

2. Add borders to the secret pixelated quilt, get fleece for backing, layer and baste it. No progress.

3. Make another baby quilt for Operation Shower. DONE, Tiny Guitar Picks Plus. 

4. Find a UFO to work on and move it forward. No, but I'm working on a project I had kitted up for vacation.

November Goals: 

1. Add borders to the secret pixelated quilt, get fleece for backing, layer and baste it. 

2. Bind Corona Medallion.

3. Make a quick and easy quilt for STLMQG's LEO quilt drive, due end of November.

4. If time permits, finish another Operation Shower baby quilt. 

I'm keeping the goals light and easy this month because I suddenly have a lot of non-quilty things going on that will take most of my time this month. More on that later in another post. 

Tiny Guitar Picks Plus

Well, that was a quick finish! From blocks on the wall in my last post to a finished baby quilt today. 

I had almost enough of the Tiny Guitar Picks print for the back. A little piecing made the back large enough and more interesting. 

I quilted it with an all-over meander, fast and easy, shown here on the back.

This quilt finished at 30 x 42" and will go to Operation Shower. Maybe to a musical family, but really, it's just a geometric print in boy colors so it could go to any family.

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Alycia Quilts