Thursday, April 16, 2020

Of Blizzards, Blursdays, and Borrowing

Yesterday the late afternoon weather bulletin indicated snow was heading our way, and indeed this morning we awoke to about 3 inches of fluffy white, and 15 degrees!!  The daffodils that had already opened looked very sad, and I fear for everything else that is just beginning to leaf out. 

Cynthia at Wabi-Sabi Quilts nailed it yesterday when she called those nondescript days between Sunday and Saturday "Blursdays."  Seems we don't know the date, the day of the week, or even month of the year if looking out the window at the continuing snow is any indication.  I made a solo trip to the church to layer and pin the grandson's quilt top late this morning, and the visibility on the way home was less than a quarter mile with the heavy blowing snow.  The temperature had moderated to a balmy 28 degrees however.

Inside the sewing room this week, I've been rummaging through all the bits and bobs stashed in every corner and at the bottom of the closet.  Found a bag with several saved pieces of old FMQ practice pieces, nothing special but a bit too nice to be thrown away.  So, those have been trimmed down to eliminate the worst parts and into roughly rectangular or square shape, scrappy binding found and they're ready for finishing off.  Photos to come.

Then Grace at Citymousequilter posted earlier this week an intriguing way to set HST's, and heaven knows I have a ton of those stored in swiffer boxes around here.  It took an entire afternoon and beginning to stitch them together before I totally had the hang of which way each one should be turned, but here is the first iteration on the design wall, awaiting stitching.

Fun, yes?  Since taking the photo I've added a couple more rows at the bottom so the resulting little quilt will be a bit longer than wide.  I commented on Grace's blog post that I wanted to "borrow" the design, and she replied that she herself had borrowed it, so I'm not sure who may have originally designed this layout.  I do like it though, and it could make some fairly quick and easy donation quilts with larger HSTs when we're finally able to restart our quilting ministry.  Our governor has just extended New York's stay-at-home order to May 15, so it won't be anytime soon, sadly. 

I hope you are all faring well as we continue along this bumpy road.  As I watched the poor woman in the grocery store this morning in her attempt to obey the latest mandate to wear masks in public places, I think I should try to resume making face coverings to pass out to those in need.  Hers was made of two layers of netting and held onto her face with strips cut from (now banned in our state) plastic grocery bags!  Two weeks ago I was the only person wearing a mask while grocery shopping, this morning nearly everyone in the store was wearing one. 

Stay safe, stay well, and above all stay positive!!   

11 comments:

---"Love" said...

Who'd ever thought only half-squares could be put together for that neat design? I really do like it, and I will just have to play with that too someday. You did say it was fun, remember? ---"Love"

Lizzy D said...

Your weather sounds awful, how brave of you to venture out.

I love the HST project, the design seems to form braids or chains. Very cool.

I am making masks for those in need, but am w out elastic. Today I found some hair elastics that will work for folks going to stores etc. It will make a few. BUT I cannot breathe in a mask, really struggling with it. And my glasses fog up. For walking Mo [no one around] I'm winding a voile scarf from Target around my face. I'm using two layers of quilting cotton and one layer of pellon for extra filtration. Wonder if the pellon is what makes breathing so hard, or if it's me, being panicky?

lizzy

Sherrill said...

The twist quilt would make a great QOV made in reds/blue/neutrals so I've borrowed it for myself!! HA There's a group of 7 of us that don't know each other making masks for groups in need. We've made a BUNCH of masks and are still going strong. Stay warm (we go from really warm to nearly freezing then back up, then rainy, then blah.

Barb said...

Amazing setting of HST. The effect is amazing. What a nice idea to have extra masks to share with neighbors in the stores.

Kyle said...

We both seem to be hanging on to winter weather. The borrowed hst pattern is a wonderful layout. I think there might be many of us "borrowing" the idea.

Barbara said...

Oh, I like that. Very clever. I like the Blursdays too. So sorry you’re having such terrible weather.

Hill Top Post said...

Your quilting projects always tempt me to throw everything aside and put together something. The HST's do look fun... maybe I could sew just a few now, then more when the snow flies next winter. (I can't help loving snow at anytime of the year. I just hope yours didn't do too much damage.) I had thought I wouldn't make masks, but that's exactly what I am doing today. They are going to make a real fashion statement for sure! Hubby requested a camo one. Until next Blursday, take care!

FlourishingPalms said...

I love that word: Blursdays. It exactly describes these indistinguishable days of the week. Only Sunday’s have an appointment, to worship. Nice that you could go to your church to pin-baste. That doesn’t happen here, at a church or rec center. Everything is locked up. Sorry to know about your extended lock down. Here in Central Florida, our stay-at-home orders are appearing to be very successful. Seniors apparently do what they’re told! No new COVID-19 cases for several days. Our counties are near the lowest number of cases in the state. Sorry about your snow and cold. If it makes you feel better, we’ve had several days of (much needed) rain and cooler temps (60s). 😊 Love that arrangement of HSTs! It would be great to see it in brightly-colored solids. It’s so kind of you to make masks. I have only made them for neighbors because I don’t go ANYwhere. Hubs has been doing our grocery-shopper, and that only once in 25 days. We are taking stay-at-home to heart! Bless you and keep safe!

audrey said...

I love a project that starts from the discards of older ones. Feels so good to make something worthwhile and beautiful from those tiny seeds.:)

cityquilter grace said...

love your interpretation and colors in the HST design...i borrowed mine from nann at "with strings attached" blog...

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

The half square triangles are mesmerizing in that setting - very cool.