design wall monday

Weekly update: just playing with blocks + reading from With Strings Attached

Wildflowers at Illinois Beach State Park: swam milkweed, spurge, liatris, evening primrose, mountain mint (it is minty!), nodding onion (it is onion-y), Queen Anne's Lace (oh, sure, it's lacy), lead plant.

This is a viceroy (Limenitis archippus), not a monarch (Danaus plexippus). The tell is the black line near the edge of the wings.

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On Saturday I treated myself to the matinee performance of The Odyssey, with a jumbo box of popcorn for lunch. It was on the regular big-screen, not IMAX, but it was action-packed enough for me. So much of the story was familiar because The ...

added by Nann 1 day, 11 hours ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , reading , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly Update: challenge met + watching/reading from With Strings Attached

Wildflowers at Illinois Beach State Park on Saturday: monarda, elderflower, lead plant; sawtooth sunflower, mounain mint, swamp milkweed; Queen Anne's lace, spurge, purple prairie clover.

I spent Sunday afternoon and evening in the studio -- the air-conditioned basement -- and finished the guild challenge quilt.

60 x 72. If I'd taken more time the color balance would be a little better but I mostly wanted to avoid two-same-fabrics-touching.

The back is as bright as the front! I got the jungle print from some bargain source (it's Alexander Henry). The green is sliced from a remnant of 108".

108"w ...

added by Nann 2 weeks, 1 day ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: rain, shine + goals met + reading from With Strings Attached

Wildflowers at Pine Dunes (Saturday) and Ethel's Woods (Sunday). Top: monarda (bee balm), purple coneflower, pickerel weed. Center: compass plant, Queen Anne's lace, false sunflower. Bottom: butterfly weed, Culver's root, swamp milkweed.

Just as forecast, thunderstorms rolled in Friday afternoon, rolled out, and more rain overnight. Saturday dawned sunny and I had a great 2-mile walk at Pine Dunes in the morning. Later in the day the rain returned and the temperatures dropped. I didn't want to bundle up and sit on wet grass (even in a chair on wet grass) to watch the Zion festivities ...

added by Nann 1 month ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap , reading , rsc 2026 , sew and tell , top-along , weekly update

Weekly update: solstice, rummage sale + VRD challenge complete from With Strings Attached

Welcome summer!

I was up really early on Sunday and caught the solstice sunrise over Lake Michigan.

In the afternoon I took a nap, rather than a walk, to compensate for the early morning.

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I did get a 2-mile walk on Saturday.

Water lily, nodding thistle, blackberries, St. John's wort, elderberry, self-heal, white avens, coneflower.

The walk came after I went to the final morning of a church rummage sale. I bought two bags for $5 each and filled them with a lot of men's shirts (23) and ties (44). If they were cotton or silk I put ...

added by Nann 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rsc 2026 , rummage sale , sew and tell , villa rosa , weekly update

Weekly update: a finish, two starts + reading from With Strings Attached

Friday afternoon: Wild flag iris, palespike lobelia, spiderwort, Canadian anemone....and a turtle on a log.

It was sunny and hot on Saturday for the Zion Juneteenth celebration at Illinois Beach State Park. I staffed the Rotary booth from 11-3. The chair and three other Rotarians are on the event committee. I only got one photo, of me with four of the Interact Club who were all-around helpers for the event.

I got teary-eyed at church yesterday. The opening hymn was The Summons. It so perfectly summarizes Stevens' life and ministry. The sermon was about "Sarah laughed" (when God told ...

added by Nann 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , reading , sew and tell , top-along , villa rosa

Weekly update: finished + acquisitions from With Strings Attached

Wildflowers at Greenbelt Forest Preserve on Sunday afternoon. A good 2-mile walk.

Beardtongue foxglove, wild flag iris, oxeye daisy, feverfew, Japanese rose.

June goal #2: 10 placemats. All finished. The average fabric in each one is 3/8 yard so 3-3/4 yards for the batch.

I used up two ziploc bags of triangles. The hourglasses (top right and lower left) were made from 4-1/2" triangles cut diagonally and repieced.

Some fabric in the "used" column but more fabric in the "acquired" column.

A guild friend said that her church rummage sale (Thursday-Saturday) had gotten a quilter's estate ...

added by Nann 2 months ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , sew and tell , top-along , weekly update

Weekly update: convention, stash report, OMG from With Strings Attached

The 123rd convention of the Illinois State Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood was wonderful.

"Live Like Lulu--Be a P.E.O. Builder" was the theme for Fran's presidential term. Fran is a historian with a specialty in women's organizations and Lulu Corkhill Williams was an influential early P.E.O.

Fran, Lulu, and me

Lulu chartered Illinois chapters and the state chapter. The eponymous Lulu Corkhill Williams Friendship Fund provides emergency financial assistance to Illinois women and men. My involvement at the state level began with a term on the Lulu Fund.

I introduced Fran to ...

added by Nann 2 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , omg 2026 , p.e.o. , sew and tell , stash report , weekly update

Weekly update: lettering and a shower, and more stars from With Strings Attached

It's a warm and sunny Memorial Day in northeasternmost Illinois.

Stevens often recalled the Memorial Day weekends that he'd go with his father from their home in Summit, NJ, to the cemetery in Williamstown, NJ, and clean up around the family graves.

Yesterday I drove to DeKalb for my nephew and his wife's baby shower. My sister and her husband and my niece and her husband were there and we were so busy talking at our table (and playing baby shower games) that I didn't take photos of the three-tier cake or the cute "little sprout ...

added by Nann 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: spontaneous scrap stars from With Strings Attached

Warm on Friday, warmer on Saturday. Clockwise: blue-eyed grass, skunk cabbage in full leaf, golden Alexander, field horsetail, star of Bethlehem (a garden escapee, very aggressive).

It was much cooler on Sunday and I took a nap instead of a walk.

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Several months ago I made string X blocks into a flimsy and added a border. I didn't like the border but it was the only fabric on hand that sort of worked and that I had in enough quantity. I put the flimsy in the box and hoped I'd like the border better eventually. It still didn ...

added by Nann 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: Wildflowers, Bunco, and placemats from With Strings Attached

Two walks in two days! Lake Carina on Saturday (lower left) and the south unit of Illinois Beach State Park on Sunday. Upper left: crabapple. Upper right: hoary puccoon (which sounds like a Shakespearean insult). Center; Sand cherry.

But before that: Zion Woman's Club spring Bunco was Friday evening. We've done this for 10+ years and have a group of regulars. Though fewer people came than last fall the preliminary income is $1402 (thanks to club members who aren't asking for expense reimbursement).

There are four raffles: 50/50 cash, a gift card tree ($195 value), a ...

added by Nann 3 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , sew and tell , weekly update , zwc

Weekly update: anniversary, convention, and a little sewing from With Strings Attached

One year. How I miss him!

I'm grateful to everyone for their love, support, and kind thoughts.

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The 101st AAUW-Illinois convention was in Rockford this past Friday evening and Saturday. (I didn't go last year because (see above). The last time it was in Rockford was 2002 and I didn't go because my mother passed away. Hmmm...) Helen drove and we roomed together. (It was a test because in October we will travel together. We got along quite well.)

The Rockford Women's Suffrage Monument was unveiled in 2020 for the centennial of the 19th amendment. The ...

added by Nann 3 months, 1 week ago. under aauw , design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: exhibits and celebrations + two finishes + reading from With Strings Attached

I took a little excursion Friday afternoon. Every year the Racine Art Museum hosts an exhibit of Peeps art. Entries come from studio artists, kids, city/county departments, and every day people. Such punny fun!

Top: Peeping Beauty School of Cosmetology; Frida; No Mistakes, Just Happy Little Peeps (Bob Ross). Center: from the Racine city dept. of development; Arthur; "Peepal Conclave." Bottom: Don Quixote; The Scream.

Of course I liked "They Read Banned Books."

In the upstairs gallery at RAM: paper cutting. Exquisite!

The top left and center right are Polish (or Polish-style). Upper right: Japanese. Lower left: I think ...

added by Nann 3 months, 4 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , p.e.o , reading , sew and tell , villa rosa , weekly update

Weekly update: Easter, two finishes, and a six-part challenge from With Strings Attached

Easter Sunday was cool but the sunshine was abundant.

I went to church in the morning and had a nice long walk at Van Patten Woods in the afternoon.

Sumac, fungus, mullein. The place names Des Plaines and O'Plaine are corruptions of "eau pleine" meaning "full of water," which is how the early French explorers saw the river in flood. You can see why.

I had to work off some of the gustatory delights of the day. I made a half-batch of pancakes, our customary holiday breakfast. The pancake mix (Christmas 2024 gift) still had enough baking powder oomph ...

added by Nann 4 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , homespun quilt , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , top-along , villa rosa , weekly update

Weekly update: quiet weekend, RSC, batik blocks from With Strings Attached

I had a meeting Friday morning (good to get out and be sociable) and the rest of the weekend I was at home with just a couple of errands. We're on the southern edge of the huge storm with only 4" of snow. We're under a blizzard warning because it's quite windy. I cancelled an appointment this morning and plan to stay in today. Sewing and reading and, just maybe, catching up on a few no-time-pressure tasks.

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In the studio: I made red "coin" panels for this year's RSC project. The pattern (shown in the photo ...

added by Nann 4 months, 4 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rsc 2026 , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: celebrations, a binding resolution, and remembering from With Strings Attached

The Lake County Women's Coalition annual Women's History Month luncheon was on Saturday. Each LCWC member organization nominates an honoree who exemplifies the year's theme.

I'm on the LCWC steering committee as the rep for the Zion Woman's Club but I am also a member of AAUW. AAUW's honoree was Nan Buckart (bio on left) who was director of education for the Lake County Forest Preserves. ZWC's honoree was Wendy Driver (bio on right) whose many interests in community activism include gardening (seed-saving, monarchs, zinnias, and more).

Top: the ZWC contingent.

Kim Sigafuss ...

added by Nann 5 months ago. under design wall monday , lake county women's coalition , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: SAHRR and another finish, stash report, goals + reading from With Strings Attached

It was a puttering-around kind of weekend. Too chilly to go for a walk, no major errands to run, nothing much that needed attention. So I sewed!

The Stay at Home Round Robin is quilted and bound. Hooray!

The back uses two book-related fabrics.

I made the courthouse steps flimsy in 2023. Barb quilted it in an overall Baptist fan. I bound it last evening. It's 72 x 84.

I've scheduled a quilt a month with Barb. Whether I take something from the box of flimsies or create something new will depend on the month.

STASH REPORT, February ...

added by Nann 5 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sahrr 2026 , sew and tell , stash report , weekly update

Weekly update: placemat delivery + MQG swap reveal + a flimsy and a finish from With Strings Attached

My trip to New Zealand was wonderful! You can read all about it in the post right before this one.

It didn't take long to recover from jet lag but I caught a cold on the way home (15 hours on three airplane flights means a lot of exposure). I can finally be more than a foot away from a box of Kleenex.

When I left the amaryllis had one bud. I took it next door to Mike and Jen who watched the house for me. It liked its vacation home! Four blossoms.

Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning were ...

added by Nann 5 months, 2 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , mqg swap , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: picture books, some surprises, remembering + MQG swap #2 from With Strings Attached

The special exhibit at the Dunn Museum opened back in October. I finally went to see it on Friday, two days before it closes. (Hmm. I went to last summer's big exhibit at the Art Institute a couple of days before it closed.)

The Dunn Museum is a division of the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Museum programming includes county-wide history (the annual history symposium (Zoom) this month was great), natural history, and traveling exhibits like this one. Just $3 admission for seniors.

So many familiar and favorite illustrators were included. You may not know their names but surely ...

added by Nann 6 months, 3 weeks ago. under design wall monday , estate sale , lake county forest preserves , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell

Weekly update: goal met, onto the next + reading from With Strings Attached

The last batch of placemats! The units and blocks are from the orphan box/parts department. Some are recent (the three at the lower right); some are middle-aged (the green/blue hourglasses are from Indigo Way (which itself is blocks-in-a-box); some are elderly (the hard-to-see scrappy trips that are the background for the two feathers in the upper right).

Choosing layouts and coordinating fabrics was a great design exercise.

Each is approximately 13 x 20.

All 121 in the bin. Each placemat averages 3/8 yard, so 45 yards. (With thanks to QuiltDiva Julie who sent a set of four ...

added by Nann 7 months ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , reading , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: first finish for 2026, placemat progress + reading from With Strings Attached

Lazy Goose, the January top-along, is finished! I quilted it in parallel lines with the serpentine stitch. The back is a print I've had since the 1990's.

5-7/8 yards used in all.

One of my January goals is to make 20 placemats. I've finished six.

Six more are underway.

They all use units from the orphan blocks box.

(The fine points of terminology: a patch is a shape cut from fabric. A unit is composed of one or more patches sewn together. A block is composed of units sew together.)

# # # # # I have a fear of running ...

added by Nann 7 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , reading , sew and tell , weekly update

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