What has been happening since last year?

Major changes for me and my husband.  I've accepted a teaching job at G Central High School teaching culinary.  Our district has stated a new thing (most schools across have a similar form) of pathways.  I and another pathway teacher have started teaching what we know best and boy, it has been a rough ride.  I am waiting for the dream kitchens....I was promised we would have our commercial kitchens by November.  Well, November has come and gone...we have one stove/oven, which we share amongst 12 students in one class period.  I can't complain about the students, they want to learn about the culinary field.  They are doing such a great job even with the lack of pots and pans, cook tops and ovens.  We take turns sharing the oven and we use the stove with gas cylinders (Prostart requirement).  I've had to improvise may times to create the cooking experiences needed for competition.  I am still learning the ropes when it comes to requesting for equipment and food items....our purchase order system is rather slow.

I love teaching and it makes it worth all the effort and trials when my students are shining during special events.  We have made and served pancakes to our veterans back in November; we served during our Open House extravaganza this month.  Parents were beaming as they watched their child serve and perform as a culinary team. 

My colleague has had to do the same...he has brought in his personal tools to teach students the world of wood construction and they had been pretty successful.  They have built and constructed 3 very well built dog houses with a shingled roof!  At the of the semester, his crew was working outside constructing the storage shed needed to store their lumber.  

My husband switched from teaching math to taking over as a school dean.  He loves it!  I knew he would; he does great with decision making and also working with the students.  He makes his rounds to observe teachers working at their craft.  He has to evaluate and provide suggestions when needed.  He has more duties and has had to stay a bit longer on several evenings, but he loves it. Besides working as a dean, he is working on his administration license and master's degree.  I am so proud of him!  

 

 

Finishing up Christmas gifts.

 I am busy crocheting gifts for family.   I also have been machine embroidering gifts, too.  Here are the cute Mandala purses.  I purchased the embroidery file from Kreative Kiwi.   She has so many cute designs.   Check out her website, Kreative Kiwi. I need work on sewing straps for these cute purses.   

Here is a warm sweater for my mom.

Starting Rhododendron trail quilt mystery

Clue 4

 clue 1 & 3

clue 4

 I'm off and piecing my fabrics.  I knew I had most of the colors for this year's color palette.  I do need more yellows, though.   I could also use more teal/ turquoise.  I thought about using my Accuquilt. But for now it seems easier to use my specialty rulers...Bonnie's Essential triangle tool.   I really like having my fabrics in various size strips. It is easy to pull and cut into the desired shapes and sizes.  Here is clue #1 and clue#3 sewn together.   I am about halfway with clue #4.   I can hardly wait for the reveal.   This will happen usually on the start of the New Year.

Working on Grassy Creek in November.

 This is last year’s mystery quilt sew-along with Bonnie Hunter.   I was torn between using whole pieces of grays for the sashing bits, but I thought, why not go with string piecing?   I had plenty of bits and pieces of a variety of grays from other sewing projects and guess what?   I used them up!  This is a good feeling. I purchased more and am currently sewing up the last 20 for the sashing.  I have 3 rows sewn with the last two sets of blocks waiting to be joined.  I’ m looking forward to sewing the borders of more strip piecing!   I know I won’t finish in time before this year’s mystery begins, but I’ll still join.  I’m digging through my stash and it looks like I’ll have to purchase more turquoise teal.  On to the fabric store, whoo hoo!

Here’s my Grassy Creek in the soon to be flimsy stage.

Grassy Creek mystery quilt

 We have started this year's mystery sewing/quilting with Bonnie Hunter!  I have to put my fabrics together for this mystery.  I hope I have enough...I think I do.  

Here's the link if you would like to join and make your own version.

Grassy Creek, part 1

Bonnie gives clues every Friday until the New Year.  I've participated in several mysteries and they are so much fun.  I sew and sew, piece and piece and wait expectantly for the reveal!  Bonnie loves her scrappy pieces and because of her, I've ventured out to use every bit of my scraps to create my own version.  Before finding Bonnie, I would buy the fabrics as specified in various patterns and pieced them with just those fabrics.  I ended up with scraps a plenty and when a fellow quilter at a guild meeting gave out Bonnie's website, I was hooked.  That journey started over 10 years ago!  My time just flies by!

Bonnie begins setting up the mystery by giving out suggested colors about a month in advance.  This helps one organize and shop for fabrics to create the quilt top.  I have purchased small amounts throughout various mysteries and still have plenty to use as the years have advanced.  My goodness, you would think with the mysteries, I would have culled my fabric stash by now!  Not even close!  Ask my kids.  They have helped me move my sewing studio several times and the fabric boxes just keep coming.

Here is the link to read about the introduction and how to get started.

Grassy Creek - A Quiltville Mystery (Introduction!)

Have fun!  I love piecing and enjoy the whole process!  

Looking back on the year 2020....

 Our numbers have come down, but the Navajo Nation is still on lock down for the weekends.  It is essential, since the tribe was hit with many families being affected by this virus...this monster.  We've lost many young people and also many elder members.  It has taken a toll on everyone!  

Different states have instituted their own edicts to combat this virus.  Here in New Mexico, our governor has worked and is still working to help curb our numbers of people getting the virus.  Essential workers is now the norm, along with face masks, and daily reports of rising numbers of people being infected with positive tests and sadly, the deaths as a result of this pandemic.  We've been vigilant in following the set protocol and numbers are slowly coming down.  Surrounding states, this is not the case.  Each governor is in charge with how to best curb the infection rate.  Sadly, our president is not issuing nationwide compliance rules and regulations per the CDC.  In fact, he is campaigning and having large face to face rallies expounding his greatness.  

I cannot explain how the whole summer has gone with little intervention on the part of our leader.  He has made this whole experience political....the Republican governors are allowing restaurants and places of business to go on and not asking the people to use the virus protocol to help curb the infection rate.  Our summer holidays were horrible with many people getting infected and our president saying things like 'we don't need more testing; this only increases our infection rate'.

Other world governments have shut down their countries and have issued mandates as prescribed by the medical community and their infection rate and death counts have flattened.  Why can't our country do the same?  Our medical personnel is overly tired and have expended unseen amounts of personal protective gear combatting this virus.  We witnessed many states having to repurpose their factories to meet the demand of providing the much needed protection gear.  Too much has transpired and it is overwhelming to think and write about this tragedy.  It hurts my heart as to the loss of many because our leaders refused to listen to the medical specialists and the CDC.

The school year started with us teaching and reaching our students via virtual means.  We opened the schools to allow our elementary students to be taught face to face and now many staff and students have been exposed.  In my little world, we wipe down and wear face masks daily.  Why do we have to work in such conditions?  We are considered 'essential'.  

We are in 'shelter in place' mode as I write this blog.  People have been asked to stay home for the holidays in other states.  Here it is mandated and I am so glad, because we are not combatting the high rates of infection as other states are.  I am doing my part to stay home.  

It saddens me since we did not visit with family for Thanksgiving.  Yes, it is disheartening, but I would rather do this to keep my parents and in-laws safe.  

We elected another leader to take over.  Power to the people and how voting has made a difference.  Our current president is touting that the election was stolen from him and has legally stopped the counting of votes for over 2 weeks.  With a sigh of relief, the powers to be, our country can move on with our newly President elect.  No concession has been made public yet by our current leader.  What a child!  We are the laughing stock of the whole world.  As I said before, we have been experiencing the ill effects and poor decisions and I certainly look forward to a better run government.  We can only hope and pray.  

It is hard to believe what has been happening, so I've included a tidbit of today's news. .

Lock down happening across the country....https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/los-angeles-issues-stay-home-234009118.html  

Our current leader downplaying the election results...Current leader

Whew!  I have been sewing in between making bread, gardening, and catching up on the latest world news.  I have made over 30 masks and have been mailing out to the family.  I also have some to donate to our local town.

Currently, our town has been in lock down during the weekends to hopefully curb the pandemic.  We were last in town over 2 weeks ago to pick up mail and to post packages.  It was so busy prior to the lock down...I could not believe how many people were out and about shopping and lining up for fast food (4 weeks ago), hence the lock down!

I get the feeling of being locked out as some have complained, but for me, I enjoy my solitude here on the ranch and find many projects to satisfy my creativity and when I don't sew, I am baking, not baking, I'm crocheting.  I have so many little projects going and it feels great to have the time or not to pick up from the last stitch or so.

My husband has been working on his projects too.  Because of his organizing, I have been able to get to boxes of my fabric stash.  My problem is how to find an economical way to store them.  I live in an "A" frame house, so wall space is at a premium.   A normal shelving unit takes up more floor space to account for the slanted walls.  I have thought about making a 45 degree slanted shelving unit to store my fabrics...this will take time since we have to plan and work around the pandemic lock down times.  Because of our remote living, a simple shopping trip takes over 2 hours of driving plus the time waiting in long lines; but I can wait.  My hubby also has some great ideas, so I will wait.

Here is my latest project...just about finished with quilting the top...3 more blocks and areas to complete.  This is the "Dogwood Blossom" pattern of Hollyanne's String & Story.  I found her blog through Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.

Hollyanne also had a quilt along too.  I signed up for the WIP challenge.  The challenge was to complete 3 works-in-progress projects.  I finished the first two...my grandson's quilt and my TOBE apron.  This is the last one.  I have been quilting it and have enjoyed sitting and taking the time to sew.
String & Story  Here is Hollyanne's website.

Hope quilt...
I have also joined a new quilting group...Gudrun's quilting crew.  Gudrun of GE Designs has had 2 quilt alongs since the start of this pandemic.  (I still need to take pictures of the Elvira quilt top; the first quarantine quilt along.)  This is the second quilt along, the Hope quilt...this time, her pattern was available for a donation.  The donations went for food for those who are struggling and do not have the resources due to this pandemic.  I have more blocks to finish...I am making the full/queen size top.  I like her designs, too.  I haven't purchased her specialty rulers...she does include instructions using the regular rulers.  This is great since I don't have to buy if I choose to use my rulers.  She has lots of fun quilt patterns.  I purchased a couple more and can't wait to get started once these are quilted and bound.
Here is Gudrun's website....GE Designs