Celebrating Alison

 

This weekend we celebrated my oldest daughter Alison, who turns 50 tomorrow. I can't believe I'm old enough to have a 50 year old daughter!

After a big lunch at home, we visited Mistie Hill Winery, about 40 minutes from our home. There was a beautiful breeze, and the temperature was just right for sitting outside and enjoying each other's company.

Alison's one request for her birthday was to spend time around the fire pit. It was the perfect night to sit by a fire.

This morning we went out to breakfast, which was delicious. Alison and Andrea both headed for home right after breakfast. Dave and I went shopping for a few things we needed and then went home. This afternoon we each worked on a little cleanup from the weekend activities, which really didn't take long.

Tomorrow we should be back to normal. Let's hope for lots of tatting and quilting time!

Round 19

 

I finally finished round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. Only one round to go!

We are celebrating daughter Alison's 50th birthday this weekend. We won't have the whole family, but we will have enough to make it a true celebration!

Lucky me!

 

Mom finished this beautiful Eternity Shawl that she made just for me! It's 7' long and 30" wide. She finished it a few days ago, but I didn't get around to blocking it until today. My brother David helped me. He's pretty good with blocking pins!

I did make some progress on Renulek's Spring Doily 2026, but I'm so close to finishing round 19 that I decided to wait until I finish the round before posting another picture. I'm hoping that happens tomorrow!

Round 19 progress

 

I have finished 3/4 of round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I'm hoping to finish this round before the weekend.

Tomorrow will be a tough day for tatting. It's the last day of school, which is good. However. daughter Carol was given notice that all of the Drama Club props and paraphernalia need to be moved by noon Thursday so that some major work can be done at the elementary school and Hamann Center. A crew of 13 worked on Saturday and made a major dent in the work that needed to be done. Today Carol, Dave, my brother, and one of the students managed to clear out a storage room. My brother and I will be going to help her out tomorrow morning. There are two rooms and a closet left to clear out. I know she's hoping it can all be finished tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Another quilt day

 

I was feeling really lazy today, but I did manage to finish two quilt blocks.

I was working on a disappearing nine patch block, but it was way too big for the quilt I'm working on.

So, I took two of the four sections and created these two blocks.

I have an idea for the remaining two blocks, which I will try sometime in the next couple of days.

School is winding down. I'll be in for lunch supervision Tuesday and Wednesday, and then I'll be off for the summer. We have family coming to visit this weekend, I guess I'd better spend some time getting the house ready for company!

Halfway

 

I reached the halfway point of round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I'm very pleased!

Just one

I really meant to accomplish more today, but I only managed to make one quilt block.

 At least it's pretty!

Taking a break

 

I took a break from crafting today. Instead, I baked a loaf of Cheddar Herb bread, played games, and read. It was a nice change of pace!

Alternating tasks

 

Today I alternated between tatting and hand sewing. By doing this I was actually able to tat more pattern repeats than I did the day before, and my hands did not get tired.

It takes me 15 to 20 minutes to hand stitch one side  of these quilt blocks, and about the same amount of time to tat a pattern repeat on the doily.

I won't be able to do this tomorrow, because I don't have another quilt block ready. Maybe I'll alternate piecing with tatting tomorrow. Whatever I choose to do, I'm sure I'll have fun!

1/4 round 19

 

I'm just past the 1/4 mark on round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I know I won't finish before school is out next Wednesday, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to finish before daughter Joanne visits this summer. 

I think I need to spread my tatting time out. Tatting for an hour and a half straight seems to be a bit too much. If I break my tatting time down into shorter increments, I think I'll be able to accomplish more in a day. I'll give it a try tomorrow!

Five repeats

 

I tatted for about an hour and a half this morning and managed to complete five pattern repeats on round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. The pattern for this round was easy to memorize, so I guess I just need to have a little more time for tatting.

After school, I finished a block that I started yesterday. I kind of like the lopsided look!

I really like the way the quilting looks on the back!

Slow start

 

I'm off to a slow start with round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. Still, three pattern repeats is better than no pattern repeats!

Round 18

 

Yay! I finished round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026! I used size 20 Lizbeth #622 Pink Med. Which color should I use next?

I had another nice sized piece left over from my nine patch block. This block seems kind of pale to me. Maybe I should have used something darker in the block. It will be okay. After all, every block is an experiment.

I'm trying to imagine what the back of this quilt will look like once it's put together. It should be interesting!

Nine more

Yesterday was high school graduation, and today the girls in our family went plant shopping. We had lots of fun, but it did interfere with crafting time.

I have nine pattern repeats left to do on round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I think I should be able to finish this round tomorrow.

Blue has always been my favorite color, so putting together this nine patch block was right up my alley.

The quilting patters are still intriguing me. I haven't had to think much about what I want to do with each block.

I wasn't very careful about how much fabric I used for the nine patch, so I had some nice sized pieces left over. Why not make them into another block?

I don't think I've repeated any quilting designs. So, I'll just keep on going!

Less than 1/4

 

It looks like I have less than 1/4 of the way left to tat on round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I definitely will finish this round this weekend.

I made a mistake with this block. It's 10" square instead of 9.5".

The quilting sure looks cool.

I also made this one 10" square. I guess that means I have two quilts in progress.

I like the quilting on this one, too. I'm having fun looking at different patchwork designs. I'm also enjoying choosing how to quilt each block!

Almost

 

I had some good tatting time this morning, and I'm really pleased with how far I got. I carefully folded my doily in half and then in quarters. I'm a few pattern repeats short of the 3/4 mark. I'm sure I'll finish this round by the weekend. The real questions is, will I finish by the time school is out? Probably not, but I'll give it my best try!

Follow the pattern!

 

I managed to get to the halfway point of round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I could have tatted more if I had only followed the pattern line by line. I thought I knew what I was doing, so I tatted without referring to the pattern. Luckily, I only tatted two pattern repeats incorrectly. You know that it took me three times as long to undo those two repeats. Still, I'm happy with the progress I made.

I finished binding another block after dinner. I love the colors in this one.

So far, my quilting designs have been different for each block. This will be a true sampler quilt!

Zip, zero, zilch

 

I accomplished absolutely nothing in the realm of crafting today. I received a last minute call to sub in the middle school, which I was happy to do. However, middle school students have unbelievable energy. I was exhausted when I returned home.

I only had two chapters left to read in Round Robin by Jennifer Chiaverini, so I unwound by reading. It was time well spent!

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a wonderful Mother's Day. My brother surprised Mom by coming to visit several weeks earlier than expected. I knew he was coming, but Mom was completely surprised. It was the best Mother's Day gift he could have given her.

Another block is finished for my next pot holder quilt.

It's fun coming up with different quilting patterns. I find myself looking at the backs of each block as I decide how I'm going to quilt the next block. I wonder how many quilting designs I can come up with?

This afternoon was tatting time. I worked until I ran out of thread on one of my shuttles. Once again, I chose the wrong time of day to take the picture. Still, I've noted my progress, and I guess that's what really counts.

Tonight I will wind more thread onto my shuttle so that I'm ready to tat in the morning!

Another quilting day

 I really planned on getting some tatting done today, but I got distracted with sorting fabrics and working on quilt blocks.

I had fun playing with fabrics for this block.

I really enjoying checking out the back of each block as I finish quilting it.

I had one block left from my Hidden Wells project, so I decided to bind it in purple. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. I may be able to incorporate it in another quilt.

I like the idea of having a decorative fabric on the reverse side, but I also like the solid. Which do you like?

Two hours

 

I had two hours of tatting time this morning, and that meant I made really good progress on round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026.

This was a fun quilt block to create. The instructions popped up in my Facebook feed. I think I might make this one again and try to get a bit more contrast. I think it looks better in person than in the picture.

I'm glad I checked the back side of this block before attaching the binding. I added a few more quilting lines, and I think it looks better on both sides. 

This is going to be a busy weekend, but I'm sure I'll fit in some crafting time!

Two repeats

We had a wonderful celebration of Luis at school this morning. He's an impressive young man, who has been declared cancer free. 

Since I attended the celebration, I didn't have as much time as I had hoped to work on tatting. However, I did finish two pattern repeats and my shuttles are fully loaded.

This afternoon I finished up another pot holder quilt block that I had started last night. Mom and I really like the way this one looks.

I checked the back to make sure I liked the quilting pattern before adding the binding. I think I have a plan for my next quilt!