cwrsrp

Midweek: design epiphany from With Strings Attached

I took a long walk Tuesday afternoon down a new-to-me trail at the north end of Illinois Beach State Park. I wanted to go farther but I could only go until I was half-tired to save the other half for the walk home.

A front is coming through today (Wednesday) with temperatures dropping by 40 degrees.

It was overcast both Monday and Tuesday evenings. We're not going to see the Great Conjunction (Jupiter and Saturn).

(Spring Bluff forest preserve is across the road from the state park.)

Left: abandoned red-winged blackbird nest. Right: muskrat den.

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(c) Kim Diehl

In ...

added by Nann 3 years, 4 months ago. under cwrsrp , illinois beach , midweek makers , wednesday wait loss

Weekly update: the solstice, some sewing, some reading from With Strings Attached

The first day of winter! The sun was behind the clouds at 7:13 a.m. The sandy bluff where I usually take sunrise pictures, such as the one six months ago for the summer solstice, is closed to vehicles for the season. Thus this photo overlooks the empty boat slips at North Point Marina.

I took the photo on the right on my Sunday afternoon walk. The ravine is at the end of our street. The creek flows to the park adjacent to the marina.

In the studio:

Grassy Creek, clue 4.

I've made 17 out of the ...

added by Nann 3 years, 4 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , grassy creek , monday making , oh scrap! , reading

Friday check in: better with a border -- and on to the next project from With Strings Attached

Not only better, but also bigger. Note that I made a new block to replace the upper left checkerboard so it's more balanced, as well.

I came across Kim Diehl's "All in a Row" pattern as I perused the stack of Civil War-themed quilting books and the file of printouts and magazine patterns. I printed a picture of All in a Row back in 2014 (the printout is dated). Since then I've acquired two Martingale books that feature it. I figured that was a sign that it's high time to make my own ...

added by Nann 3 years, 4 months ago. under basket block , can i get a whoop whoop , cwrsrp , finished or not friday , nine patch quilts

Midweek: checkerboard baskets so far from With Strings Attached

The checkerboard and basket blocks are assembled. 60" x 72", 4-1/8 yds. I'm contemplating adding a border because I'd like it wider.

Maybe I'll swap out the block on the upper left. UPDATE: I did! I like the change. Photos to come.

One of the designs that inspired this one has borders on the sides only.

Linking up with Midweek Makers

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Photos from Sunday afternoon at Illinois Beach State Park.

added by Nann 3 years, 4 months ago. under cwrsrp , illinois beach , midweek makers

Weekly update: hikes, waves, some quilt making -- and this week's reading from With Strings Attached

We still have a few forest preserves to visit! On Thursday we went to Nippersink .

The gravity-defying tree has another outstretched limb pointing straight ahead.

A front came through and it rained Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. The weather forecast said waves would be high on the lake and I went to see for myself.

In the upper photo: the seawall (on the left) used to be at the water's edge. The round thing in the middle is a concrete storm drain that used to be covered by sand and gravel and a good 10' from the water ...

added by Nann 3 years, 4 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , grassy creek , illinois beach , lake county forest preserves , monday making , oh scrap! , reading , zwc

Friday check in: swans, pinwheels, and a cutting session from With Strings Attached

Sunny skies, mild temperatures, and another forest preserve to explore. On Wednesday afternoon we enjoyed Hastings Lake in Lindenhurst. From 1998-2003 we lived in a subdivision at the south end of this lake. That was before the forest preserve was developed.

The ducks and geese on the lake were outshone by a pair of trumpeter swans.

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In the studio:

The pinwheel blocks are all set. They called for a simple sashing and a simple border, no cornerstones or corner blocks. The sashing is a red and white woven homespun that reads as pink.

The border is a lively reproduction print ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under can i get a whoop whoop , cwrsrp , finished or not friday , lake county forest preserves

Weekly update: hikes, Grassy Creek and pinwheels, and cheese from With Strings Attached

The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived at Ryerson Woods Conservation Area on Saturday afternoon. It was another gorgeous day with abundant sunshine and mild temperatures.

(Note: one more dandelion!)

Brushwood was the Ryersons' house, built in the aerly 1940's. It's used for courses and exhibits. There's also a modern welcome center (adjacent to the parking lot). None of the buildings is open now because of Covid.

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Alford Park is at the far northern edge of Kenosha. We've driven past it many times but until today we'd never stopped. The lake was placid ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , grassy creek , monday making , oh scrap! , reading , weekly update

Friday check in: Thanksgiving hiking and feasting, and Kaleidoscopes II from With Strings Attached

Thanksgiving Day here in northeasternmost Illinois was sunny and mild. We went over the river and through the woods at Sedge Meadow, a relatively new forest preserve that's about six miles from home. The preserve and trail are relatively small but they connect to the extensive Des Plaines River Trail. A decades-long project restored farmlands and gravel pits to floodplain and forest. (The name Des Plaines -- pronounced "dess plains" -- is a corruption of Eau Pleine meaning "full of water." The river is shallow and when it floods it spreads far. The reclamation/forest preserve mitigates flooding in more settled ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under can i get a whoop whoop , cwrsrp , finished or not friday , lake county forest preserves , thanksgiving

Midweek: OMG finish and CW spices from With Strings Attached

My November One Monthly Goal was to make a set of placemats. Done! I'm reposting the photo for this week's OMG Finish link up.

Last evening I finished piecing the sixth installment in the Civil War Reproduction Stash Reduction Project. The pattern is Spice Pantry by Kim Diehl. This is spicy indeed compared to so many CW palettes of butternut, blue, and softened reds and greens. (56 x 62, 4 yards).

I can imagine this design as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge -- one row of each of the monthly colors.

Linking up with OMG at Elm Street Quilts

and ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under cwrsrp , midweek makers , omg 2020

Weekly update: forest preserves, nine patch stars, and the book review from With Strings Attached

We visited Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve Friday afternoon. It's bordered by a shopping center and suburban office buildings -- a century ago that was farmland but a century before that it was a slough, which is what the forest preserve is now.

When we left Prairie Wolf we saw a sign for the Heller Nature Center We're glad we took a detour to check it out! It's part of the Highland Park Park District. (Not shown: the good-sized education building. I can imagine that in normal years there would be field trips and after-school activities.) The cabin was ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , lake county forest preserves , monday making , oh scrap! , reading , weekly update

WIP on Friday from With Strings Attached

64 degrees on Thursday! We discovered Sun Lake Forest Preserve
As the website explains, the trail is distant from the lake because the shoreline is ecologically fragile. (The lake is the center right image in the collage photo. That was as close as I could get. The upper left image is a trailside pond.)

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I have so many ideas for the CWRSRP (Civil War Reproduction Stash Reduction Project). There are books by Jo Morton, Carol Hopkins, Julie Hendrickson, and Kim Diehl. There's a stack of patterns from magazines.

Will I continue to reduce or will I replenish? Confession: I ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under can i get a whoop whoop , cwrsrp , finished or not friday , lake county forest preserves

Weekly update: wildlife, RBG, kaleidoscopes, and JAB from With Strings Attached

It was still unseasonably warm on Monday when we went to Middlefork Savanna on the far west side of Lake Forest. The property was formerly J. Ogden Armour's farm. (I have yet to find out the location of the other tallgrass savanna in North America.)

The front came through on Tuesday. It was 30 degrees colder when I walked at Illinois Beach State Park. The frog blinked when I nudged it with my toe but it did not move. The buck watched me for a couple of minutes. His mind was more likely on the does -- I got a ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , illinois beach , kaleidoscope blocks , lake county forest preserves , monday making , oh scrap! , reading

Weekly update: more sunshine, OMG finished, and CW birds from With Strings Attached

Four forest preserves in four days -- because the weather has been absolutely stunning (70-degree temps, lots of sunshine).

Raven Glen was a gem. It's made up of a former campground around a glacial lake plus a former dairy farm. In 1962 and 1963 I went to summer camp on land that is now Rollins Savanna. I've known that for years but this was the first time we've been to the preserve. (I wasn't able to walk far enough to get to where the campgrounds were. I'll need to do more research.) We discovered Lyons Woods ...

added by Nann 3 years, 5 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , lake county forest preserves , monday making , oh scrap! , reading , weekly update

Midweek: voting, sunshine, and CW birds from With Strings Attached

I was among the many women who wore pearls yesterday to honor the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Election Day. I chose my mother-in-law's necklace and earrings because they're real (mine are imitation). Screw-back earrings are tricky to put on!)

(I stitched the little sampler with the Rubaiyat quote. My sister added hyacinth bulbs and it was our birthday gift to our mother in 1991. [Initials N and V, plus our mother's initials MHB.])

I also wore "sock the vote" socks. (They're from Zkano. Not only are they American-made, they are also a ...

added by Nann 3 years, 6 months ago. under alpha gamma delta , cwrsrp , election day , lake county forest preserves , midweek makers

Weekly update: #hikelakecounty, stash report, CWRSRP Ohio Stars, OMG, and reading from With Strings Attached

This week we checked three forest preserves off the Hike Lake County List. (One more wild card -- a forest preserve of our choice -- and we will complete this season.) Cuba Marsh and Buffalo Creek are in the southwestern part of the county, diagonally opposite where we live. Van Patten Woods is close to home. (We've been to VPW often.)

We are very fortunate to have a robust and extensive forest preserve district in our county. (And the six-mile Lake Michigan shoreline a mile east of us is nearly all a state park.)

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And now it's time for the ...

added by Nann 3 years, 6 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , lake county forest preserves , monday making , oh scrap! , ohio stars , omg 2020 , reading , stash report , weekly update

Friday check in: the first CWRSRP flimsy and and forensic block dating from With Strings Attached

* CWRSRP = Civil War Reproduction Stash Reduction Project

When I posted the photo of 50 red/white Ohio Stars earlier this week I warned you that I was thinking about settings.

Here's the result! The sashing is not a repro but it was the right tone. Deb Tucker's Square Squared ruler made easy work of the cornerstones. (I tried the Square-in-a-Square ruler, and even went to a class for it, but it was awkward to use. I like Deb's ruler better.)

I have 20 white-corner Ohio Stars ready for the next project.

Yesterday I stopped at an estate ...

added by Nann 3 years, 6 months ago. under can i get a whoop whoop , cwrsrp , estate sale , finished or not friday

Midweek: OMG complete and CWRSRP stars from With Strings Attached

Regular readers saw this quilt in progress. I'm reposting it now for the One Monthly Goal link up. The stars and the Yankee/Dutchman's Puzzle blocks were in the Parts Department/Orphans box and demanded to play together.

You will see the initialism* CWRSRP often in the coming months. It stands for Civil War Reproduction Stash Reduction Project. I weighed the CW stash this month and, at four yards to a pound, I have 239 yards. Here are the first blocks: 50 red/neutral Ohio Stars, 9-1/2" unfinished. I'm already playing with different settings.

* An initialism ...

added by Nann 3 years, 6 months ago. under cwrsrp , midweek makers , omg 2020

Weekly update: enjoying autumn, a finish, and the CWRSRP from With Strings Attached

We added two forest preserves to our Hike Lake County list: Greenbelt and Lake Carina . There's a story trail at Greenbelt with pages/pictures from Waiting for Winter along the route. More late-summer flowers still in bloom.

In the photo: Sumac, Bouncing Bet (soapwort), ground cherry, dogwood berries, tansy, Queen Anne's lace, and a very persistent dandelion.

It was overcast and foggy on Friday. I stayed closer to home on my walk. I passed a man I knew. He was walking his dog. "How've you been, Miss Nann?" he asked. [That's how people address "their" librarian ...

added by Nann 3 years, 6 months ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , lake county forest preserves , monday making , oh scrap! , reading , scrap quilts , wildflowers

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