Frolic--Post 4

Making geese with green wings

The beginning of March was my last "Frolic" post. I had started clue number six. Later that month, Bonnie Hunter released clues for her "Unity" quilt. Like any self respecting squirrel, I started working on that project and left this one languishing in the project box!

At the end of the month, Bonnie will release the fabric colors and yardage amounts for her next mystery quilt. I decided that even though I'm still quilting "Unity," I had better make progress on "Frolic!"

I've been at a virtual retreat since Thursday. Today is the last day. It has been fun. I've worked on stitching blocks a little of every day of the retreat. Making progress is great!!! Our Mavens group got together via a Zoom sewing session at the beginning of October. At least one other person was working on their "Frolic." Those members, who had finished "Frolic," stitched  other projects. A number of the Mavens were working on another Bonnie Hunter projects which was fun too!

In my last post, I had started step six which was making geese with green wings. It took me a couple hours to figure out where I was with the project. Another participant, who is putting her blocks together, expressed the same lament. We both figured out what we were supposed to be doing and we made progress.

Making HSTs and a few pinwheels

I spent another couple shorter sewing sessions to finish step six of the mystery. I waited a few days before I tackled step seven!

In step seven, the directions were to cut a whole lot of half square triangles (HSTs). Some we left unstitched; some were stitched in HSTs and some were stitched into pinwheels.

I also completed step eight. In this step, we were to stitch different wings on the geese. The most challenging part of the last several steps has been to keep the various like parts kitted together! 

Stitching geese with coordinating wing

Currently, I'm working on the last step. I've stitched a few blocks together. I'm stitching slowly and carefully. I'm finding how easy it is to turn the blocks to a design other than the one I should be making! So far, I'm liking the results. I am awed at how the parts come together at the end. 

Bonnie's projects sure have helped me use a lot of scraps! Unfortunately, I have yet to finish one of her projects; however, I am moving closer to a finish on Unity! Since all but the aqua fabrics are from stash, I'm linking my post to Oh Scrap!

Regarding COVID:

Worldwide: 42.8M cases; 1.15M deaths

United States: 8.64M cases; 2.25K deaths

Oregon: 40,443 cases; 635 deaths

The first whole blocks

The number of COVID cases is on the rise everywhere. Sadly, it is going to be a long time before I get to have a sleepover with the granddaughters. It is getting colder and people may choose to take their outdoor meet ups indoors where more transmissions may occur. 

Regarding the protests: Tuesday night, the media reported protesters had made signs and then marched to the ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) building to adhere their signs to the fence. The event began peacefully around 7pm; but by 10pm federal officers were warning the crowd not to set fire to the building. It seems that the number of protestors is decreasing. It seems the targets of the protestors are increasing.

Regarding voting: "The Guardian" reported that more than 50 million people have already voted and that it is forecast that 65% of the population will vote in the upcoming election. The percentage could be the highest voter turnout since 1908! Statewide, 9.5% of the ballots have been returned. In my county, 38% of the people have returned ballots. 

I like the approach the candidates in the Utah governors race are using. They appear in a joint ad saying that they can agree to disagree without hating each other. I hope other politicians will take notice and follow suit. Currently, candidates spend their advertising monies on attack ads. It is difficult to weed through the muck to learn what the candidates' platforms are. When I was in elementary school, I can remember my great grandmother capturing printed materials that listed the platform of the candidate. She would research their background to see if they actually lived similarly to their platform. Remember, I grew up in a small community so this wasn't a difficult task for her to do! There was always a lot of discussion about how the campaign was like a job interview. She had a unique perspective on politics. She was also known to call a candidate and get the facts from the "horse's mouth" as she called it!