book recommendation

Just in Time for Santa from Fret Not Yourself

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.

~Charles Dickens

As I've written before, there are many finishing steps to these stockings but the whole thing went together more quickly than it has in the past. Is it because I had a few ornaments prepared and the stockings themselves cut? Perhaps.

Red velveteen stocking with white felt cuff and sequined decals

Velveteen Christmas stocking, 2020

I found several special glass beads a few years ago. The little glass penguin is a marker for each member of this family group.

Camel and mitten decals on Christmas stocking ...

added by Ann 1 month ago. under beading , book recommendation , christmas stockings , naomi novik

Kawandi with Sujata from Fret Not Yourself

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.

~Jane Addams

Quilting

Last month Sujata Shah presented a lecture and workshop to our guild. She has a new class on kawandi which are quilts made by the Siddi people - Indians of African descent. Because some arrived as early as the 7th century while others came as slaves during the African Diaspora, regions have differing customs.

Kawandis are uniquely designed from the outside in. Siddis begin with a sari as the backing, baste waste fabric on ...

added by Ann 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under book recommendation , fula , kawandi , sujata , willa cather

Figuring Out the Best Appliqué Prep from Fret Not Yourself

Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you'll be criticized anyway.

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Quilting

Whenever I appliqué it seems to need different methods. There are two older but excellent machine appliqué books in my personal library: Mastering Machine Appliqué by Harriet Hargrave and Traditional Quilts Today's Techniques by Debra Wagner.

Machine appliqué instruction books

I drafted my patterns on graph paper then looked for something to reinforce it. The plastic on hand is either too thin or too small. But... there's a whole bunch of file folders from my shredding summer. Woo hoo ...

added by Ann 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under applique , applique border , book recommendation , robert macfarlane , shadow star

Cutting Leaves for the Shadow Stars Border from Fret Not Yourself

What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? I avow my faith that we are marching towards better days. Humanity will not be cast down. We are going on swinging bravely forward along the grand high road and already behind the distant mountains is the promise of the sun.

~Winston Churchill

Quilting

With so many colors in the Shadow Stars already, more green vines and fewer flowers seems like a better idea. I ...

added by Ann 2 months ago. under applique , book recommendation , designing a border , martin walker , shadow star

Fiddling with Flowers on the Shadow Stars from Fret Not Yourself

The cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy.

~Jane Addams

The US election results are in with joy for many of us but also sorrow that the vote was anywhere close. Much work remains to help minority communities, to reestablish science and belief in its research, and to rebuild faith with our democratic partners internationally. Hopefully we can all commit to considering the words we use and the meanings and intentions behind every word and policy.

Quilting

My head aches from all the ideas running around it. First, I thought I could sew the four main pieces of ...

added by Ann 2 months, 1 week ago. under applique , applique border , book recommendation , designing a border , megan whalen turner , shadow star

Vases on the Shadow Stars Border from Fret Not Yourself

Fairy tales are more than true:

not because they tell us that dragons exist,

but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.

~C. K. Chesterton

Today is finally Election Day in the U.S. unless you voted early. And I hope you did since the lines will be long today.

Even though the rabbit print seemed a bit light I wanted to try it. The vase is too short to include the whole image. I chose to put the face in rather than the ears. Then I asked QS and several friends whether it needed a foot. Of course ...

added by Ann 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under book recommendation , designing a border , shadow star , sue monk kidd

Return to Shadow Stars from Fret Not Yourself

This present moment used to be the unimaginable future.

~Stewart Brand

Quilting

Did you think I'd forgotten about the Shadow Stars? I've been researching different border ideas. DH didn't like white for the border and I've come to agree with him. I don't want a reproduction although this has traditional roots.

Without enough fabric on hand I spent several weeks looking at online choices. That's a difficult way to make a decision when looking for a specific color. The background needed to be white rather than cream. But the whole thing needed to be ...

added by Ann 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under book recommendation , designing a border , lisa wingate , shadow star

String Tulips 2 Quilt Positively Finished from Fret Not Yourself

A president doesn't have to be brilliant.

He doesn't have to be clever. You can hire clever.

But you can't buy courage and decency, and you can't rent a strong moral sense.

A president must bring those things with him.

~Peggy Noonan

Quilting

My second String Tulips has more yellows in the border. {I learned that from the Electric Socket.}

Four string tulips form an X in the center surrounded by a border of X string blocks in multicolors.

String Tulips on Blue baby quilt

That let me choose tulip petals that are lighter in value than the first. More yellows here, too. I can see more yellow will be useful in future quilts as ...

added by Ann 3 months ago. under #positivethinking , book recommendation , michelle kuo , string quilt , string tulips

Binding on Average from Fret Not Yourself

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing,

the last of the human freedoms

- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

~Victor Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning

Quilting

Today seemed like a good time to review binding because frankly, I've gotten a bit lazy. There are many good videos on YouTube showing how to apply binding, turn the corners, and finish it off. In general I like this McCall's set of four videos but find they've missed an important step - waving edges. That ...

added by Ann 3 months, 1 week ago. under binding , book recommendation , mary robinette kowal , quilt binding

A Second String Tulip Started from Fret Not Yourself

It takes courage to live through suffering and it takes honesty to observe it.

~ C. S. Lewis

Quilting

The first set of Electric Socket blocks have been on the design wall long enough. After so many supportive comments, I've come to like the craziness, too, but still wanted to play with tulips. Fortunately there are still more blocks waiting to be sewn. Now I'm basically repeating the previous tulip quilt but with a brighter border. The blocks were arranged to flow from yellow to red to blue to green to orange and back to yellow around the border ...

added by Ann 3 months, 2 weeks ago. under #positivethinking , book recommendation , sara seager , string quilt , string tulips

September D.E.A.R.* Report from From the Strawberry Patch...

Here's the rundown for this past month; they were all good, each in their own way-- very different genres. No surprises with the Grisham novel, this one was well done, I thought. Westering Women is another historical fiction winner. I loved Beartown but I do thoroughly enjoy ice hockey and that theme runs throughout in relation to the culture and setting of this story, I'm unsure if that would be

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under book recommendation , reading

September D.E.A.R.* Report from From the Strawberry Patch...

Here's the rundown for this past month; they were all good, each in their own way-- very different genres. No surprises with the Grisham novel, this one was well done, I thought. Westering Women is another historical fiction winner. I loved Beartown but I do thoroughly enjoy ice hockey and that theme runs throughout in relation to the culture and setting of this story, I'm unsure if that would be

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under book recommendation , reading

String Tulip Quilt Finished from Fret Not Yourself

Prejudices are rarely overcome by logic.

Not being founded in reason, they cannot be destroyed by logic.

~Tryon Edwards

Quilting

It was worth all the time it took to remove the border quilting. The spiral design didn't add anything to the quilt because it was hidden among the strong Xs and the tension was a mess. With the machine cleaned, the needle changed, and thread rethreaded it's sewing perfectly {except for my own bobbles.}

Four crossed tulips center the medallion with string blocks forming Xs as a border

String Tulips on Green baby quilt

Quilting began with a few free-motion arcs on the tulips then SID around the inside and outside borders ...

added by Ann 3 months, 4 weeks ago. under #ahiqpositivethinking , book recommendation , elizabeth george speare , string quilt , string tulips

Turquoise and Red Lone Star Quilt Finished from Fret Not Yourself

Ninety-nine percent of failure comes from people who have the habit of making excuses.
~George Washington Carver

Quilting

This quilt was a surprise for my newest grandchild. The turquoise/aqua colors match {or at least blend with} the mint in his older sister's quilt while the red is a stronger version of peach. Hopefully they will look well together like the beloved family they are.

This variation looks amazingly like a kaleidoscope. A real one, not the quilt. ;-)

Main star in red, turquoise, black and green with smaller red and aqua stars around the sides

Lone Star quilt in Turquoise and Red

The easiest design for the central small diamonds was Orange Peel. It feels very ...

added by Ann 4 months, 2 weeks ago. under book recommendation , lone star , madeleine miller , stash quilt

Monthly D.E.A.R. Report and Something Sweet from From the Strawberry Patch...

Here's my August reading list, these were all good; actually, D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time has become one of our favorite hours of each day! I especially enjoyed the historical fiction works: A Well Behaved Woman, The Giver of Stars and The Union Quilters, as that's become my latest favorite genre but the other was a great read too. The Giver of Stars was most interesting to me

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 4 months, 3 weeks ago. under book recommendation , books , d.e.a.r. , dessert , reading , recipe

Monthly D.E.A.R. Report and Something Sweet from From the Strawberry Patch...

Here's my August reading list, these were all good; actually, D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time has become one of our favorite hours of each day! I especially enjoyed the historical fiction works: A Well Behaved Woman, The Giver of Stars and The Union Quilters, as that's become my latest favorite genre but the other was a great read too. The Giver of Stars was most interesting to me

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 4 months, 3 weeks ago. under book recommendation , books , d.e.a.r. , dessert , reading , recipe

LeMoyne Star Quilt Finished from Fret Not Yourself

"The evil that is inside men is at the last a matter for men to control.

The responsibility and the hope and the promise are in your hands - your hands and

the hands of the children of all men on this earth.

The future cannot blame the present, just as the present cannot blame the past.
The hope is always here, always alive,
but only your fierce caring can fan it into a fire to warm the world."

~Susan Cooper in Silver on the Tree

LeMoyne String Stars quilt is finally finished. Hooray! Quilting started last week and now the ...

added by Ann 5 months ago. under baptist fan , book recommendation , lemoyne star , scrap quilt , star , string quilt , ta ne'hisi coates

String Tulips from Fret Not Yourself

Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over

what impression he is making or about to make.

~Bruce Lee

Quilting

As if the first set wasn't enough, here's a second set of the Electric Socket strings. {Thanks for the perfect name, Julie.} Not so much yellow here and the green blocks aren't resonating.

Long skinny strings of fabric in a variety of prints form Xs when set together.

More string X blocks

Leaving them on the design wall gave me lots of time to arrange and rearrange all those string blocks. I moved something every time I walked by but they were just too crazy together. It could be the mix ...

added by Ann 5 months, 3 weeks ago. under #ahiqpositivethinking , #positivethinking , book recommendation , designing a quilt , string piecing , string tulips

Taking a Hatchet to my Scraps from Fret Not Yourself

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Quilting

It's way past time to use up my remnants and scraps. I used the largest to make a simple four-patch called Hatchet that is often seen as a signature block. In fact, I used the block for my first guild name tag. My rule was to two to twelve center squares 5.5" squares with pairs of 3" squares for the triangle sides. Five inches is fairly wide for the scrap bag but I grabbed ...

added by Ann 8 months ago. under bill bryson , book recommendation , hatchet , scrap quilt

Snowballs Make a Perfect Border from Fret Not Yourself

Coward: One who, in a perilous emergency, thinks with his legs.

~Ambrose Bierce

Quilting

The snowball borders are finally sewn on the Wheel quilt. Wheee!

A portion of the Wheel quilt showing some of the wheels with a narrow red and white striped sashing and a border of three rows of low volume snowball blocks

Snowball border on the Wheel quilt

Oh, joy! Not that the quilt is done but at least the top is finished. It's too large to get a full photo right now. Hopefully that can happen once it's quilted. Next will be an excavation of my stash to see what white fabrics lurking there could become a back. I can't remember any right now but am certainly not purchasing more before checking the ...

added by Ann 8 months, 1 week ago. under book recommendation , pillowcases , robert galbraith , snowball block , tote bags , wheel quilt block

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