This and That

Two friends came over on Thursday for a day of sewing.  I've learned to select projects that don't involve too much concentration when we get together so I worked on a few different things.

First, I made a few of these blocks.  I picked up the flannel prints in the center at a guild meeting to make into a charity quilt.  I've looked at the assortment and played around with a couple of different ways to make a block and finally came up with this to put into a rail fence pattern.

 

 

Then, I put together 23 half-square triangles that will go into a quilt for my son who is at Louisiana State University.  Although the colors in this picture look a little different, the HSTs are purple and gold.

 

 

 

I ended our time together by making flying geese units to put in the border of my Designer Mystery Block of the Month from 2009 (or was it 2010?).  I blogged about some of the blocks here and here.  Now I just have to sew one row of blocks to the center, add this border of blue and attach the outer border.  Can't wait to show it to you!

 

I have been enjoying my retirement quite a bit, and as so many people have said, I sometimes wonder how I had time to work.  I've decided to join a quilt group that meets during the day and a needlepoint group that meets in the evening.  Both hold their meetings in locations that are less than five miles from my house so they are certainly convenient, and it's always great to meet people with the same interests.  I've also attended a lecture at the library given by a local author who talked about his research on the diamond trade.  My husband and I went to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia last week to see the exhibit on espionage which was extensive and fascinating.  If you check out my page on Goodreads, you'll know that I'm also doing a lot of reading.  My current favorite is The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout..  Fall is off to a great start for me and I hope for you also!

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