design wall monday

Weekly update: an exhibit, golf, and quilting progress from With Strings Attached

Way back in May Sue and I talked about meeting at the College of DuPage to see the Hokusai exhibit. We made it on Thursday -- just in time since it closes September 21.

I took a one-semester Japanese history course in high school and it's remarkable what I remember (Ukiyo-e, the Floating World) despite all that I have forgotten.

Like the Mona Lisa, Hokusai's The Wave is a lot smaller in person than its reputation.

There were prints by Hokusai's contemporaries. The exhibit comes from an Italian museum based on the collection of Edoardo Chiossone, an ...

added by Nann 1 hour, 39 minutes ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rotary club , scrap quilts , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: friends and inspiration at the Wisconsin Quilt Show from With Strings Attached

Last week Wisconsin Quilt Show returned to the Alliant Energy Center in Madison for the 21st year. It was begun by Nancy Zieman and Wisconsin PBS as the Wisconsin Quilt Expo, hence my blog label. This was the seventh time I've attended and the first time I've stayed overnight.

I picked up Carolyn at the Milwaukee airport Wednesday afternoon. We drove from there to our hotel in Verona, a now-suburb adjacent to Madison.

We set up the sewing machines in the hotel breakfast room / lounge. That attracted other hotel guests and we had good conversations.

Both the FW ...

added by Nann 6 days, 15 hours ago. under design wall monday , magpies , monday musings , oh scrap! , quilt show , sew and tell , weekly update , wisconsin quilt expo

Weekly update: quilt shops, the stash report, Christmas braid flimsy, and OMG from With Strings Attached

I brought souvenirs back from New England--two t-shirts, a tea towel, refrigerator magnets -- and fabric! I went to four quilt shops and a thrift shop.

A Quilter's Garden is in Montpelier, VT.

Sew Far North is in Littleton, NH.

The Golden Gese [taken from the owner's surname] is in Concord, NH.

The late Victoria Carroll-Parkhill, whose blog was Park Hill Farm, patronized this shop. When we were in New Hampshire in 2018 I met her there.

I had a wonderful six-degrees-of-separation experience at Haphazard Quilting in Canaan, NH.

I mentioned to Deb, the shop owner, that I was ...

added by Nann 1 week, 6 days ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rsc 2025 , sew and tell , stash report , weekly update

Weekly update: festival and pillows from With Strings Attached

Two more forest preserves checked off the list: Rollins Savanna on Friday and Old School on Sunday.

Top: compass plant, woodbine (also called virgin's bower and devil's darning needles!).

Bottom: wild petunia, great blue lobelia.

No walk on Saturday. Zion Woman's Club helped at the welcome table on Saturday at the Zinnia and Monarch Festival. It's a celebration of community diversity and unity. Zinnia seeds are given out every spring and at this time of year the colorful flowers are in home gardens and at businesses.

There's a monarch release, too.

After that shift ended ...

added by Nann 3 weeks, 5 days ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: what goes around + quilt exhibit from With Strings Attached

The guild hosts a monthly skill-builder workshop to teach a particular technique. This Saturday it was machine-sewing pogaji. Pogaji, sometimes spelled bogaji, are Korean patchwork wrapping cloths. (See more here .) Traditionally they are hand-sewn but quiltmaker Elisabeth Decroos of Epida Studio has developed (perfected) pogaji style by machine.

Guild member Karen showed us the trick to this *reversible* patchwork: flat-felled seams. The second trick is to use batiks since they are reversible anyway.

Top: Karen's class sample. Bottom: what I created.

A closeup.

What goes around comes around: Dawn brought a tote bag to the skill-builder class. It held ...

added by Nann 1 month ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , wisconsin quilt museum

Weekly update: a hug, quilt show entries, stash report, and August goals from With Strings Attached

I've enjoyed walks nearly every day.

Top: swamp milkweed, purple coneflower, blue lobelia. Center: vervain, liatris (blazing star), red lobelia. Bottom: nodding onion, pinnate coneflower (Mexican hat), Culver's root.

Milkweed nourishes monarch caterpillars and tussock moth caterpillars.

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On to quilting!

My dear Magpie friends made a two-sided hug quilt for me. It was in the mail held for me during my trip. It began as two hugs, one for Stevens and one for me, but it turned into one. The blocks are from the U.S., Canada, England, and Australia.

My side was assembled by Terri and Gilly ...

added by Nann 1 month, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , omg 2025 , sew and tell , stash report , weekly update

Weekly update: a flimsy and a start from With Strings Attached

I've had great walks the past few days. So many wildflowers! Waterlilies, purple coneflower, Queen Anne's Lace. Monarda, gray-headed or pinnate prairie coneflower, chicory. Elderflower, mountain mint, broadleaf arrowhead.

Mulberries are ripe but hard to reach. Black cap raspberries are easier to get to though the canes are scratchy.

Two mulberries on the left, black caps on the right. The cap I wore was a handy way to carry them.

8/16/24

Last year I improvised a carrier out of a grape leaf. He ate all the berries in the car.

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In the studio: Jasper, the top-along ...

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

Weekly update: celebrating, a field trip, rummage sale, a finish + reading from With Strings Attached

Happy birthday to me! I look forward to a *prime* year.

I caught the sunrise (5:17) at the marina this morning. I stuck my toes in the water at the north beach.

On Friday I took advantage of an unscheduled day and went downtown. "Dressed in History" is on exhibit at the Chicago History Museum featuring items from their costume collection. The garments were donated by Chicagoans, some of whom wore them. Quite a variety!

The white Dior gown in the center is so elegant! (Worn by a debutante in 1949.) The donor of the 18th century court dress ...

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

Weekly update: wildflowers, blocks and scraps + reading from With Strings Attached

I joined the nationwide protest marches in spirit only. I fulfilled a prior commitment to staff the Rotary booth at the Zion Juneteenth celebration at Illinois Beach State Park.

After my shift was over I walked along the trail at the south end of the park.

Lupine, Ohio Spiderwort, puccoon, sulfur cinquefoil, prickly pear, a hillside (actually a duneside) of lupine.

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In the studio: I made 24 blocks for Cynthia's current block drive. 3 yards used. And now I have an idea for next year's RSC.

I saw a photo of a quilt with this design on a ...

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

Weekly update: rummage sale score, orange stars, topalong start from With Strings Attached

Friday's walk at the state park: lupine, daisy fleabane, coreopsis, blue flag iris (native), hybrid iris (I look for it every year), golden Alexander, Canadian anemone, yellow flag iris (non-native).

On Friday I went to a rummage sale. As I looked at craft items I mentioned that I'm a quilter. The woman said she had some fabric leftovers in the house that she'd bring out. I bought all of them -- contemporary prints -- for $10. The woman's mother was managing the checkout and said, "I have some old fabric from my mother. I can bring it tomorrow ...

added by Nann 3 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rsc 2025 , sew and tell , vintage fabric , weekly update

Weekly update: wildflowers, a finish, and other doings + reading from With Strings Attached

Finally some sunshine! It will get into the high 60's today, Memorial Day.

I enjoyed a walk at Lyons Woods on Friday afternoon. Clockwise from upper left: red trillium, golden ragwort, bristly buttercup, white trillium, forget-me-not, mayapple, jack-in-the-pulpit.

On Saturday I went to the spring tea (actually a luncheon) given by Grandparents and Kin Raising Children, an agency founded and run by our Rotary friend Harriet. It was very nice (and good for me to get rather dressed up and out). Due to privacy concerns only the event photographer could take photos of the attendees, and I didn't ...

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

Weekly update: two finishes + reading from With Strings Attached

Two walks at Illinois Beach State Park this weekend were good for my body and my spirit.

Woodland violet, field horsetail, wild strawberry, hoary puccoon, prickly pear, serviceberry, false Solomon's seal.

If you look at the horizon you can see the Chicago skyline, 40 miles away.

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In the studio: two finishes!

The flimsy was in my post last week. Now it's quilted and bound. One of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects this year is to make a wheelchair-sized quilt (approx. 40 x 50) out of Ohio Stars in the monthly color.

I signed up for the guild mystery ...

added by Nann 4 months ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , mystery quilt , oh scrap! , reading , rsc 2025 , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: the sew goes on from With Strings Attached

I continue to thank you all for your kind words and condolences. Quilting is very therapeutic during stressful times. And the endorphin rush from bargain fabric acquisition is not to be discounted. I have recent experience with both.

Chris called to offer me several bags of fabric. I bought a huge quantity from her a couple of years ago. She found more and for payment asked if I would make a quilt for her new great-grandson. Of course!

Her gift included bags of flannel that I have given away. I kept this yardage. The blue, yellow, and pink pieces in ...

added by Nann 4 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , i spy , monday musings , oh scrap! , omg 2025 , rsc 2025 , sew and tell , stash report , weekly update

Weekly update: Easter and a finish! from With Strings Attached

I hope your Easter weekend was pleasant. In fourth grade we had a unit about weather lore. The one saying I remember is "if it rains on Easter Sunday it will rain every Sunday for the next seven weeks." It rained yesterday. Maybe this year I will remember to keep track. (Now I know that "seven weeks" means until Pentecost.)

I went to church Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. I had lunch with Stevens each day. They put the wheelchair in the hall across from the nurses' station so he can interact with everyone who goes by. He's been cleaning ...

added by Nann 4 months, 3 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , scrap quilts , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: bunco, a surprise finish, and reading from With Strings Attached

S is getting more alert. His appetite is good. I will learn more when I meet with the care team this week.

The Zion Woman's Club spring bunco party was Friday evening. Everyone had a good time!

My friend Donna won the quilt I donated to the raffle.

I'm sure the club treasurer will have a glowing report at tomorrow's board meeting.

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Here's the ninth block for the guild BOM.

These are 8" (finished) blocks so the pieces were a bit fiddly to cut.

From "just a few more blocks" (Friday's post) to a finished ...

added by Nann 5 months ago. under black white quilt , design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , reading , sew and tell , zwc

Weekly update: adjusting, and progress on goals + reading from With Strings Attached

Stevens had laprascopic surgery on Friday afternoon. The results were good. "I went from one end of the bowel to the other," said the surgeon when he called me, "and there's nothing there." It's taken S all weekend to recover. He was half-awake when I visited Saturday morning and asleep this afternoon. Thanks again to all of you for your concern and support.

The thirteen Lake County Round Table P.E.O. chapters held the annual Founder's Day luncheon on Saturday. I'm round table president so I was the emcee. This was the second year the ...

added by Nann 5 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , oh scrap! , p.e.o. , placemats , reading , rsc 2025 , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: an exhibit, OMG, RSC, reading from With Strings Attached

Thank you all for your supportive comments regarding my husband. The care home assessment was Friday. His condition is beyond what assisted living/memory care can accommodate. For now we are increasing in-home care (two caregivers have been recruited to help with the 6 p.m.-bedtime shift (V comes in the morning)). We have a video visit with his doctor on Tuesday.

I was able to take time Saturday morning to see this exhibit at the Dunn Museum (part of the forest preserve district).

The oldest quilt was made in Pennsylvania in 1850 (large picture on left). It came ...

added by Nann 5 months, 2 weeks ago. under design wall monday , oh scrap! , omg 2025 , sew and tell , weekly update

Weekly update: changes ahead + quilting progress from With Strings Attached

The crocuses under the dryer vent are the first to bloom

On Wednesday Stevens' condition took a sharp decline. He wasn't able to get out of his armchair to use the walker to go back to his bathroom and bedroom. Our friend Curt came (at 9:45 p.m.) to help me move him. Thursday began all right--I went to Rotary, came home to get him up, and promptly had to call our part-time caregiver for help. She came right over. We began a new routine. V now comes every morning and every evening. He's sitting in the ...

added by Nann 5 months, 3 weeks ago. under design wall monday , oh scrap! , rsc 2025 , sahrr 2025 , weekly update

Weekly update: catching up on this and that from With Strings Attached

Catching up with a longtime friend: Leslye and I have known one another since junior high. We reconnected a few years ago and have had the best intentions to get together -- we live about 25 miles apart. Last week she emailed and wrote, "Let's do it!" and we did. We had lunch at a restaurant here in Zion. Such a delightful time and yes, we will do it again. Soon.

Catching up with walking. Since the caregiver was with Stevens I took advantage of the time and the lovely day to take a quick walk at Spring Bluff Forest ...

added by Nann 5 months, 4 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , rsc 2025 , sew and tell , weekly update

More Progress on Projects from Loose Threads

As you can see by scrolling through this post, I've been busy. I've scrapped my plan for the Jemima's Creative Quilting Mystery 2025 and switched to the colors below. I love fall colors especially the rust color, and I like this color pallet a lot better. I also fussy cut 7 hexagons from another fabric, but those will go into another project. I know I could finish more things if I just picked something and stuck with it. Click the link above if you want to join in.

The photo below shows a bit of the process ...

added by LuAnn 6 months ago. under applique' border , design wall monday , english paper piecing , hexagon quilt , jemimas creative quilting hexagon qal 2025 , paper piecing hexagons , the cousin's walk quilt

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