Working on this quilt makes me feel like I’m trapped in the Dungeon of Cute.  I discussed this with my friend Laurel, who is also doing this, and she said wistfully said, “Yeah.  But it’s so cute.”  It is, so I keep working on it.

That first section, sun-bee-butterfly-jam-jars-long-flower-two-trees-churn-dash-pinwheels-flower, is all stitched together. I’m trying to get the second section finished before I leave it for awhile.

Obviously the different between the top photo and this one is that I’m trying to get that truck and camper block pinned up, but the other difference is that I re-did the star on the flag.  Ms. Holt has us back every shape with interfacing, stitch all around it, clip and turn, press and appliquè.  I did it with the star in the top verion; that’s why I had to re-do it.  I say, there are multiple ways to appliquè, so do your favorite method.  Mine is a combination of needle-turn (à la Becky Goldsmith) and also using freezer paper.

To say the directions are frustrating would be an understatement; they look complete, but are missing crucial information, like the truck piece is too long.  I’ve worked out several weeks worth of instructions for Laurel and I, and have put them in PDF handouts.  You are welcome to them: Bee Happy Tutorial Sheets. They are found up above under the tab “2020 Projects.”

I put in pictures belonging to Lori Holt, as they are an additional guide to this pattern.  I acknowledge her at every turn, and don’t give away anything that’s not on her blog, but hopefully I make it clearer.

Believe it or not, but the Bee Happy block was the easier than the Jam Jars block or the Truck-Camper block.  The missing dot on the exclamation point will be a small button.

Quilting this is my antidote to the Dungeon of Cute.  A couple of hours every day.

In spite of our president’s tariffs, I ordered new 2″ cotton webbing from China off of ETSY, and it arrived so I could fix my tote bag.  If I purchased a certain amount of precuts at Quilt Market, I was given the bag free (free=haha).  This happened back in Salt Lake City, and the handle began to shred almost immediately.  The New York Times had a great article recently called “What to Do With All Those Tote Bags.”  What to do, indeed.

Wanted to play along with this QAL…

…and even purchased the red, white and blue fabric (there’s more in the stash).  Sigh.  Just like I finished my Christmas quilt in June, I’ll probably get this done in November.

The other night at a restaurant, since my husband and I couldn’t hear each other in conversation, I downloaded the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) app to figure out how loud the dining room was at California Pizza Kitchen.  As a guideline, the average noise level in a home is around 40 decibels (dB) and noise becomes harmful at 85 dB.  My husband and I pretty much gave up on conversation, ate our pizza in silence and went home.

I’ve been haunting Letterfolk lately.

Not quite, but I’m thinking about it.

I’ve been watching the second season of Anne with an E, a show on Netflix that re-thinks the well-loved story about a certain red-haired orphan.  I binged-watched several episodes while hand-sewing and emobroidering the bees and other blocks from the sew-a-long Leisa and I decided to do.  It’s been good company while I’m still recovering.

I’ve been able to get out for a few walks around the neighborhood; this is our first blossom in our front yard.  We’ve had a ton of rain, and since we’ve been in a drought, the plants (and I) are loving it.

I was able to sew my Flowers for Emma blocks into strips.  Next up is sashing, the borders. I love this design by Sherri McConnell.

I gave in and pressed the small triangles a different way, because, gosh!  How can I possibly make a year’s worth of triangles and not use this?

Here’s a month-and-a-half’s worth of triangle temperature markers.  It’s also an interesting way to note the passage of time. And yes, I have not yet Marie-Kondo-ed my design wall.  I like it just as it is.

Bee blocks from my Gridster pals have been coming in: a row of houses!

I’d actually prefer dark, rich chocolate to give me a high-quality life, rather than Snickers.  (Sign in my local Japanese/Chinese import store)

I sent out three quilts for quilting, and got them back in record time.

Now what will I do with them?  I have to figure out how to trim them, and bind them with one working arm.

Only now we’re almost at six weeks.  I make these monthly time markers to send to my mother, to show her I’m still around.  Still have the sling, still one-armed, but I’m trying to keep up with all the projects around here.

Happy Stitching!