Started Projects in January--Eight!

1. Thread Lace Workshop; 2. Embroidery Embellishment
Workshop; 3. Making Fabric from Selvages Workshop

Just how many projects can one start in four weeks? If I'm the person responding, I'd report eight! I started a temperature quilt. I've been keeping up making the blocks. I haven't started embellishing the blocks for the days we've had precipitation; but, I have a plan. I have thoughts about setting the blocks; but, I haven't confirmed the layout.

Lone Star quilt beginnings

Attending the Clark County Quilters guild virtual Saturday Workshops every Saturday this month helped me start most of the projects. I attended eight workshops and taught one. I started: a Mile a Minute quilt; two Happy Hearts table runners, a selvage string bag, an embroidery embellishment project and a Lone Star Quilt. The More Than Binding workshop as well as the Thread Lace workshop were more of a lecture/technique class. I taught a string piecing class. 

I also decided to jump on board the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC). I plan to string piece eight to 12 blocks each month in the color listed. I will begin sharing about the Saturday Workshop projects in upcoming posts. 

I did meet my One Monthly January goal which was to quilt Martha's quilt in the ditch. I finished the cross stitched Santa ornaments. I pieced a few more Frolic blocks. I worked on the hand embroidery for one of my languishing projects! I spent one Sunday in the month on embroidery software lessons. It was a good month!

I'm linking to Oh Scrap/Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework. The fabrics in the log cabin block, the selvage project, the happy hearts table runner, the RSC  and the string project came from my scraps.

During the month, I helped 32 participants receive their American Heart BLS CPR certificate.

Hand embroidery embellishment in process

Regarding COVID:

Worldwide: 103M cases; 2.22M deaths United States: 26.1M cases; 439K deaths Oregon: 142K cases; 1,972 deaths

In the UK, my daughter, living in London, let me know that 1 in 66 people have contracted the virus. She reports that they continue to live under the restrictions that come with residing in a level five area.

Representatives of the vaccine companies claim the vaccine will be somewhat effective against the UK and African variant strains of the virus. Officials continue to support getting the vaccine when it is available as well as continuing to social distance while wearing a mask.

Quilting design for block centers

In the U.S., West Virginia has distributed nearly 90% of the vaccine that it has received. Many other states have issues with the supply chain, logistics of distributing the vaccine as well as determining which groups of people are eligible.

In Oregon, teachers are receiving the vaccine. My daughter, who is a special education teacher, received her first dose of Pfizer vaccine last Thursday. She hasn't reported any lingering after effects. Front line workers, employed in private clinics, had registered on line for the vaccine. Unfortunately, that website crashed. The data was lost and these workers had to re-register for the vaccine on a new website. Because registration is on a first come first served basis, these workers are now listed behind the teachers. 

Last week the Governor relaxed the rules for gyms and movie theaters so that they could open. If you have a 500 square foot gym, you can only offer personal training sessions for one person. The square footage/person ratio of my husband's fitness center worked out to six people at a time. Movie theaters figured they could show a film to five to eight people. The business owners will likely remain closed as the costs to open greatly surpass the income received during those circumstances.