Wow, it really has been a long time since I last posted anything. This has been a hard year.
2020 had one last issue for me. On the morning of December 24, 2020 my oldest daughter passed away unexpectedly. She had been hospitalized for 2 1/2 weeks undergoing all kinds of test to find out why she wasn't doing well. She was diagnosed with MDS and waiting on further tests to determine a treatment plan. It advanced rapidly and she died suddenly. I am still trying to deal with her loss. That has made simple things even harder for me to deal with. I was called for jury duty early in the summer. My issue with that was having to drive downtown to the courthouse to serve. Fortunately the case was vacated and I didn't have to go. Then in September I had cataract surgery on both eyes, two weeks apart. Again, not a big deal but on top of everything else it was hard for me. The surgery went well and I have good sight back again. I do need glasses for close up, but so much better than before. The grief stuff has been getting better but with the holidays coming up, that may be hard this year. We will see how it goes.
I did get some quilting finishes done.
Here is the quilt top that was passed on to me after my Mom passed away in 2017. I spent years trying to decide how to finish it so I quilted it with a fan design and I am very happy with the result. I was going to send this to my oldest daughter for Christmas. I finished it a few days before she went into the hospital and I didn't get to send it to her.
Next is a quilt pattern that was in the 2020 issues of Primitive Quilts and Projects. It was a four part sew along. It is the "My Little Garden Sampler" by Sonia Alonso.
I really enjoyed working on this one, too. I did make a few changes. There were a few 3D effects in some of the blocks but I just did a flat applique. I didn't want parts sticking up that little ones could catch with a shoe when crawling on the quilt. I also put the churn dash blocks in the corners because I don't like quilting around corners and I really like churn dash blocks. I finished this early in the summer. I love the applique blocks, especially the bee skep and the flag.
The third project I finished is a tribute to one of our motorcycle club members who passed away from Covid late last year. He was the heart of the club. I was given some of his t-shirts and asked to make a wall hanging to be hung in the FOP lodge. Photos of him and other members who have passed away over the last few years will be hung on the wall in the rec room. Their only input was for it to be a small wall hanging size. I was on my own with the design. Here is what I came up with:
Front
Back
This links his activity with the Blue Knights motorcycle club, being a member of the FOP, his love of New Mexico and all the conferences he attended over the years. In the center is the Thin Blue Line.
I was excited to find the police quilt fabric to use in the border and backing. This prompted me to start a police themed quilt for my son. I am still working on it and will show it when I finish.
I have also started doing cross stitching again. I enjoyed it years ago and I picked it up again when a few of the bloggers I follow got back into it. I have several I finished the stitching on and need to get them finished into frames or small pillows.
That's about all for now. I am sorry I haven't been more active with posting or leaving comments on your blog posts. My goal for the rest of the year is to do better with that. I have just found it hard to write anything. Thanks for stopping by!
