Friday, March 23, 2018

Finished Quilt!

Sewing Ringo Lake blocks on Lucy (long bed) my 1953 Singer 301
On Wednesday Bonnie Hunter hosted a QuiltCam session and I was so happy to be able to play hooky and catch most of the session. And not only that, Bonnie posted a photo on her blog that I took of my sewing table during QuiltCam while I was sewing some Ringo Lake blocks - click here to see it! 
Bonnie raised the interesting topic of how to manage social media and still have enough time to actually quilt. I know many people struggle with information and communication management, but I can thankfully say that I don't. In spite of constant pressure from many of my peers/friends/relatives, I do not have Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Twitter accounts. I only have email and a blog account in order to keep track of the things I am creating. 


These days in my free time, I am only focused on what brings me joy, because life is hard and my job is usually very hard, and I won't survive it if I am not extremely careful with my time. I decided that in the second half of my life I want to only focus on being with people who make me ridiculously happy, and doing things that bring me joy as much as is possible.  "Joy is medicine"!



And because quilting brings me joy, and I spend as much time as possible doing it, I have a finished quilt to share!
Here is the 2018 Super Bowl mystery quilt which was called "Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue". It is a perfect baby quilt, with train themed fabrics and measuring 42" square.



The quilting is straight diagonal lines done in red and blue threads using the walking foot. It went so smoothly and so quickly that I could hardly believe when it was ready for the binding!





Since my Dad is a train fanatic, this will make a perfect quilt for his great grandchild, so I'm going to put this quilt in the storage closet (which is a difference place than the UFO cupboard!) until that day finally arrives.
Linking up to Finish It Up Friday!

16 comments:

Sarah said...

Lovely finish and will bring pleasure one day in the future. I agree with you, life is too short to spend it on Facebook or social media much better to sew!

Created by Kathi said...

Kathy, I enjoyed Bonnie's quilt cam too... isn't it fun being featured on her blog post :) Congrats on that !!! I do have facebook and Pinterest but none of the others and I do limit my time on those... I did just buy time with Craftsy to make my creativity in my new space soar ... and to give me tips on cooking and gardening... some things I am interested in spending time on as well.
Sorry your job is stressful! That is certainly no fun but glad you could play hooky and got your photo shared :D Well worth the time away from a stressful job!!! I love your quilt... my honey is a train fanatic as well... no kids here though to pass it on too... hope it doesn't have to wait too long for the right recipient .. it is sooo cute! Congrats on the finish !!!

Kathi

Kate said...

A very bright and fun finish! I agree that we should get to spend our free time on joyful activities and people. It makes the stuff we have to do a bit easier to take. Have a wonderful weekend.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

How nice....posting a pice of your machine!! Your finished quilted is exquisite.

The Cozy Quilter said...

Great finish, Kathy! I wonder how many quilts are in the quilt storage cupboard?

Kristin said...

Congratulations on your finish! I find Facebook to be a great way to stay connected to friends and family that are far away. It would be impossible for me to keep up with these people through emails only.

Frog Quilter said...

Sweet! My quilting comes first in my free time, period!!!!

Deanna W said...

I am with you on the media thing although I do have facebook and my blog. I too have realized that quilting is my love. Why be or do things that don't make you happy..be in the moment and be happy! When you are happy good things seem to happen all around you! Have a great day!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Congratulations on a beautiful finish that is going to be so loved. I don't do a lot of social media either - a distraction that only eats your time up.

Mary said...

I like your New finish. I saw you on QuiltCam. I was on too with my Eleanor Burns blocks. Glad to see you stitching. It's a Happy Quilt Show day!
No pinterest for me, it's a big time suck. FB and IG to keep in touch with family. My Blog, like you, for keeping track of my quilts!!

Janet O. said...

Congrats on being on QuiltCam!
Like you, I do email and blogs only. That takes enough time--don't need more!
Great finish on the mystery quilt, Kathy!
I love that--Joy is my medicine. :)

Louise said...

What a sweet little train quilt! Congrats on the finish, Kathy. Like you, I would much rather quilt than be on social media, and that leads to more productive and joyful sewing! And spending time with upbeat people is a key life lesson for happiness, I think :)

Anonymous said...

Kathy, your post hit home for me, too. I also have a tough job, and I work six days a week. I don't seem to get much of what I want to do accomplished. When I read your blog posts, I am inspired, because I know that you work hard, yet seem to still accomplish what you want. I definitely need to cut back on social media, and I need to find other ways to slow down and smell the roses. Part of the problem is clutter, and that is something I am working on this year. Cleaning out the closets and drawers, nooks and crannies, somehow relates to clearing out clutter in my mind, too.

audrey said...

Great looking quilt! The border fabric is perfect for it. I enjoyed reading your post today about social media use. We really do need to be more careful about how we fill our time. I've noticed that a result of me posting a little less that I have less comments to respond to. Although I really LOVE getting comments, I want my quilting time as well and it's usually one or the other. That's why I still haven't jumped on the Instagram train too other than using it for family and to follow just a very few quilters who don't blog anymore. It all adds up to a huge time-suck.:)

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Learned that Joy lessons long time ago! Love your Super Bowl quilt!

moosecraft said...

Your Three Cheers quilt is beautiful! I like how it looks one way from a distance, and then up close, you can see all the interesting fabrics! So cute!
I agree with you 1,000% when you say "focus on being with people who make me ridiculously happy, and doing things that bring me joy as much as is possible"... that's exactly what I decided to do the I turned 45! No regrets...and MANY happy days since then! :-)