Asteria block 6

The last block, Block 6, of the Asteria quilt.  I am not going to make blocks 5 & 7 so that I can make the quilt a little smaller than the original.  Now… to assemble.

Some progress is being made. Yay!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for flannel jammies, fires in the fireplace and new friends that I’ve made at church.  It is winter out there!  And I’ve seen people posting the number of days until Christmas.  Eeeks!

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These are my hubby’s new flannel pj bottoms that I made for him.  We found the fabric in South Dakota two summers ago during our road trip back to the Midwest to visit my family.  Yes, sometimes the fabric needs to “age” a little before it gets used.  He loves them!  His family used to fondly call him Gare Bear growing up. So of course he loves bears.  (Start here and move forward to read about our vacation or go to Flickr to just see the photos)

The pattern is Kwik Sew 2388.  I used black cotton fabric & cotton cording to make the piped cuffs.

Asteria blocks 3, 4 & 8

Asteria blocks 3, 4 and 8.  Block 3 was finished at the end of October. Block 4 was finished last week.  And I just make block 8 this morning.  If you have been following along, in my effort to make this quilt a little smaller I am eliminating blocks 5 and 7.  You can find the original pattern over at Needle in a Hayes Stack.

I still have block 6 to make.  I’ve been holding that one until last because it uses the light floral fabric and I’m debating whether it will work or not.

I like where this is going!

I think I may resurrect the Random Sampler QAL after this…. only one more block to go!

What are you up to?

Thankful Thursday

November is traditionally the month to give thanks. But it’s also something that I want to make a better effort at doing regularly, through the good times & the bad times.  Life is hard sometimes and it is good to focus on what we can be thankful for rather than the difficulties. The difficulties will pass even though in the midst of the moment it doesn’t always feel like it. This has come up a few times in conversations recently with friends and in things I’ve been reading. So here’s my first installment of Thankful Thursday.

This week I am thankful for being able to visit my hubby’s family, our rascal cats (love those guys even when they are naughty!), and this beautiful view we caught as we drove across the state last weekend.

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The photo above is just west of Ritzville, WA taken with my iPhone. (Click on the photo to see a larger version)  There was a sun break between showers & freezing rain as we were driving across the state last weekend. In my imagination this is what southern Italy might look like.  Someday we want to see Italy in the flesh.  My husband’s ancestors came from southern Italy.

Snoqualmie Valley Trail

I’m sure you are getting tired of seeing that lonely Asteria block in the last post.  I have been doing a little bit of sewing, but not much. The short version is that I haven’t been feeling all that well.  At my last doctor’s appointment I was tested for vitamin B absorption and it came back that I have the genetic mutation that doesn’t absorb folic acid very well. So I’ve been trying to add a supplement that puts it into a form my body knows how to use. But it has been making me feel kind of yucky.  It’s going to take some time to figure this one out.

So here’s a little something for you to enjoy.  About three weeks ago we went for a ride on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.  We road about eight miles (one way) in the middle where it is an old railroad grade that has been converted into a bike trail.  On the ride back to the car we heard an elk bugling.  Wow. What a sound!  It was an amazingly beautiful day!

**These were all taken with my new iPhone.  Sometimes that phone surprises me.