We also did not take Kirby for our two weeks in October but this, sadly, was because one weekend in early September while we were away for a short trip to Delaware, he went to sleep and crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We are still in the process of adapting to life without him.
In addition, we lost a dear family member from complications of diabetes. I requested some of his shirts to make a quilt from them for my sister-in-law. I have not been able to look at them yet, but soon I will. He was a sweetheart and will be sorely missed.
Happiness returned in early December when a nephew tied the knot to a lovely new member of the family. It was a cold and rainy day in a beautiful, historic church in Valley Forge. We had such a grand time with all the family, food, dancing and music!
The last black cloud of the year - hopefully the last - was a horrific cold that hit both me and my husband. No fever or chills but a continuous cough that just would not quit! For six weeks it would not quit! Both of us visited medical experts who had waiting rooms full of folks with the same cough! I finally was given a medication that eased the cough at night and helped me get more than 90 minutes of sleep per night. I am not a very nice person when I lose that much sleep. Finally, after 6 weeks, that dratted cough is gone.
2019 has arrived! And so has my quilting mojo!
I have several quilts nearing completion, but these are gifts so I can't publish them here just yet. I have also been busy sorting and cutting scraps and organizing my quilting fabrics, precuts and books. I did not finish some the UFO projects from the APQ list I thought I could get through. I will work on them this year but I did not join the APQ UFO project this year. At this point it does not give me the flexibility I need to work on my projects as needed with all of the other projects on my plate.
One of the things I try to do with each project is learn something new, try a new technique, try a different type of quilting, learn how to use all the things my sewing machines can do. I think I found a wonderful way to do this while working on my projects - a bucket list! While reading the latest issue of the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, I read an article describing a quilting bucket list. This list is a checklist of 50 items to try. I have already done 14 of them. Of the 50 things to do on the list, 3 are to make a quilt of my choice. I can think of a log cabin quilt, a tumbler quilt and a storm at sea quilt which could check those three boxes at some time in the future.
So the 14 boxes that are already checked are 3, 4, 9, 11, 14, 15, 19, 26, 27, 35, 36, 37, 39, and 46. To see what these numbers mean, or to print out your own quilting bucket list, go to allpeoplequilt.com/bucketlist.
I will now select one or two bucket list items to work on while I work on my current projects and will report my progress in my next blog post, pictures will be included. Until then, happy quilting!
