My pink & white "New Wave"

The top is done! This went together so easily. (See yesterday's post for the pattern source.) And it is a perfect project for stash busting. All you need is 12 fat quarters and a yard of solid for the sashing - plus backing and binding fabric. I'm headed to The Pin Cushion to look at the Minkee choices for my backing.

I'm really liking this

I finally spent some time in my sewing room last night and I've put together 7 of the 12 rows for my New Wave quilt. And I am really liking this pattern. I have all of the rest of the pink wedge shapes and the white strips cut so hopefully tomorrow I'll finish this top with the final 5 rows on the top. I'm thinking it needs something cuddly on the back - like minkee.

I promised to share the pattern source. It was a free pattern found on http://www.ohfransson.com/. Elizabeth Hartman has some neat things on her website that are worth checking out. And thank you Elizabeth for creating this easy and fun pattern.

A new project

I haven't done any sewing since my surgery, but I have done a little organizing for a project that I wanted to start. I saw a darling quilt called New Wave on a blog and downloaded the instructions. (I'll link to the original blog when I finish my project.) I made a couple of rows in June before going into the hospital, and now I'm ready to do the rest.

I've been collecting pink fat quarters for a couple of years, and so I've got quite a few - not all of fit together very well. Some have too much "yellow" or "blue" to go well together. But I needed 12 different ones for this little quilt and I've pulled 12 now that I like.

Next steps are to start sewing again. Maybe later this week I'll feel like digging in.

I'm back - kind of . . .

Wow - thought I would only be "off radar" for about 2 weeks, but it has definitely been longer. My simple surgery turned into 1 simple one, and another emergency surgery 3 days later to repair more problems. I spent 13 days in the hospital, but have been home one week today. And today was the first time I felt up to sitting at the computer long enough to read a few blogs and check my email.

Thanks to some of my local readers for the calls, visits, cards, and flowers. I can't say how much I appreciate knowing my friends were thinking of me.

Saturday Sampler blocks 5 & 6

Blocks 5 & 6 of this year's Saturday Sampler. Aren't they pretty? I especially love #5 at the top. These blocks will all be done in this pink and brown colorway. Halfway done/

This will probably be my last post for about a week. I'm having some surgery on Wednesday morning to finish the repair job on my perforated colon from December. I'm nervous, but will be glad to have it over with. And recuperating in July will be much more enjoyable than it was during the January blizzards.

Cats & Quilts

Here is Sammy - laying claim to my selvage pile. I was working on some selvage blocks this afternoon and had a big pile of selvage strips on my ironing board, which is next to my sewing table. It was so handy, because I could just reach over and make a selection as I sewed.

However, my process got a little trickier once there was 18 pounds of cat sitting on top of the pile. He wasn't happy when I tried to pull out the ones I wanted. Being well trained "cat staff", I started selecting them from the bag again so that I wouldn't disturb him.

He ended up sleeping on that piles of selvage strips for about a half hour while I sewed.

Father's Day

My dad passed away 20 years ago, and my father-in-law has been gone over 30 years. They never met each other, but I know they would have been friends if they had been given the chance. They shared so many traits. Both knew the satisfaction of finishing a day of hard work. Both were strong, quiet, and honest. Neither of them ever met a stranger. Neither of them passed up the opportunity to quietly help a neighbor, without looking for credit or thanks.

Good guys - and sorely missed after all of these years! Happy Father's Day!