What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Yesterday was the official first day of fall, my favorite season.

Today, the 23rd, is that special day when there are only 100 days left in the year!

I write about this every year, but that’s because I’m a list-making kind of gal, and this is a great occasion to make yet another list.

In case you’ve missed it in previous years, here’s the book I make my lists in:

It’s half full! I’ve been using this book for my 100 Days lists since 2010, so I guess it still has a few good ...

I love lists! Lists make me feel in control! This little apple did not fall far from the tree. My mom keeps tons of information, but most of it is useless, like tracking the amount that the telethon (they still have those out west) raised over the last 50 years. Now, that's a list I can do without! However, I have to say that having a list like that and keeping track of it for 50 years is a feat! 

My most extensive lists are book-related! 

Back in the day, and I could not find an exact date, there ...

Here we are at that magical day of the year when there are only 100 days left in the year!

What are you going to do with them?

I always tell myself: “They’re gonna pass anyway, you might as well try to make the most of them!”

You can either still be right where you are today, or do lots of stuff to move yourself forward by the end of the year.

So yesterday, I sat down and made my usual list of “100 Things To Do in the Next 100 Days”:

I’ve lost count of how many ...

So -- the good news is that the first custom quilt is off the long arm. It's trimmed, and I added the binding this morning. The hanging sleeve is pinned on, and while I'm on a call this morning, I'll hand stitch it in place. I don't want to tempt fate with the UPS shipping, so I will take it to the UPS store this afternoon and get this one on its way. 

It turned out pretty well, and it was only ¼" out on the bottom, which is a pretty good feat considering this is my ...

I’m a list maker. I love my lists. And I have lots of them!

I make new ones every month, but at the start of a new year, I always make more. And I usually have way grander ideas of what I can get done than what I can actually accomplish!

In addition to new lists this year, I’m also adapting to a new work schedule. Back before I broke my elbow last September, I was working 10-14 hours a day, plus weekends, and breaking my elbow made me realize that I need to slow down. My grandmother ...

 I spent a large portion of last month skimming cookbooks (and a few other books) without really reading them properly. There were only two that I really read enough to count. I did manage to finish two of the history books I've been in the middle of, though. I guess that counts for something... Right?

So, without further ado, I give you my very short September list:

September 2021

Fiction:

The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith

The Martian by Andy Weir (again. Seriously, any book that starts out with those first three sentences is a winner in my book ...

 Hello again from the school pickup line! (Seriously, these people need hobbies...) I'm gonna be here for a while. I've put a loaf of dough to rise for the girls' sandwiches for the rest of the week. It should be ready to mess with when I finally get home.  Thankfully, it won't need too much work. (That's why I adore this recipe.) Work has about finished me off. If only I knew what I was feeding them for supper...

Anyway...

As promised, I've got my very short little list for August with me. I have ...

 I don't really have anything exciting going on today. Or this week, really. Just same old boring everyday yuck. So, a quick list of random, semi-related thoughts might have to tide us over for now.

 1. I am completely exhausted. Like, I'm always exhausted after a shift at my horrible job, but this last couple of weeks has just been so much worse.

 2. My feet and legs have decided they hurt too much to do anything else tonight. My chair is my best friend right now. I will not hobble from it until bedtime.

 3. I am ...

 Continuing my efforts to get caught up, we're doing another double feature today.

June 2021

Fiction:

The Oathbound

Oathbreakers

Oathblood

Beyond  (new Valdemar book!!!)

The Wizard of London

Home From the Sea  all by Mercedes Lackey   I was in a rereading sort of mood this month, I guess

Blood Banked

Blood Shot   both by Tanya Huff  

Graphic Novel/Comic:

Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy        another Avatar: the Last Airbender comic

Nonfiction:

Animal Vegetable Junk by Mark Bittman

July 2021

Fiction:

A Study in Sable

A Scandal in Battersea

The Bartered Brides

The Spellbound Child  all by Mercedes Lackey, continuing ...

 Since life has gotten the better of me lately and I'm so very far behind, I'm going to knock out two lists today. Bear with me...

April 2021

Fiction:

Shuri            and

Shuri: The Vanished by Nic Stone    My daughter got the first one for Christmas. She loved it. I've been on the lookout for the sequel ever since. This was my first chance to grab it. I made her loan me hers before I let her read the new one. (I know, that's mean. But if I didn't hold new books hostage occasionally, she'd ...

March 2021

Like I said before, there's almost nothing to post for this month. 

This isn't going to take long at all. 

Fiction:

Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire (new InCryptid novel!! I adore Greg, just saying...)

Catalyst by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Yeah. So... That's March. 

The good news is that April looks a little better than this. And May, while heavy on the graphic novels, is almost looking normal. So, that's good. 

This is the nadir (so far) of my slump of the year. Really hoping it doesn't this bad again. It ...

 February 2021

Gosh, I'm behind. This has just been a tough year so far. My reading was down in February, too. I just couldn't seem to concentrate. Looks like I mostly only read with my girls. And all fiction, apparently. [Spoilers (or maybe just fair warning): March was worse. There's barely even anything to post.]

Here we go, short list:

Fiction:

The Trials of Apollo series by Rick Riordan

book 1  The Hidden Oracle

book 2  The Dark Prophecy

book 3  The Burning Maze

book 4  The Tyrant's Tomb

book 5  The Tower of Nero

Dying ...

 I always have a list of books I really want to get ahold of. I think that's true of most bookworms. Don't we all keep track of our favorite authors and their upcoming works? Today, I thought I'd make a short list of all the books I can't wait to read. 

First up on the list, we have the next book by Abby Jimenez, Life's Too Short. I've been waiting eagerly for this one. Ever since the second I finished reading her last book for the first time. Luckily, it is expected to be ...

January 2021

1. It is only Wednesday. :( 

2. The weekend is not close enough.

3.  I really, really don't like waking up at 4am.

4.  It isn't getting any better as time goes on. 

5.  It might be getting worse.

6.  I really need for my kids to let me sleep- afternoon naps or early bedtime. Or both. Both would be good.

7.  I have no clue what I should be blogging about today.

8. You already figured that out.

9. You actually had it figured out as soon as you started reading.  (It's okay to admit it. We ...

With nowhere to go, and a stash of fabric and supplies on hand, it's like being on a never-ending retreat; these are the days we quilters have been stockpiling for all those years! But-- I need to slow down and sort this out. I have always been that person who's thinking of the "next quilt" before I finish what I'm working on now. With this current situation, for me, it's worse than ever. I

With nowhere to go, and a stash of fabric and supplies on hand, it's like being on a never-ending retreat; these are the days we quilters have been stockpiling for all those years! But-- I need to slow down and sort this out. I have always been that person who's thinking of the "next quilt" before I finish what I'm working on now. With this current situation, for me, it's worse than ever. I

What does your to-do list look like?

I just added a book to mine. Admittedly, I did not just add it; it has been there a while. I just cannot get to it. More realistically, I don’t make the time to get to it.

Let’s get real honest.

My list includes lots of other things of varying import from ziplining to a trip in June to Ireland to working on my latest social media campaign to polishing my Photoshop skills to making a quilt for my niece who graduates from high school in May to …. Lots of business ...

My yearly list of 12 things. Last year, I was super overly ambitious. I knew it was at the time, and you all warned me, but I was pie-in-the-sky hopeful about it. Here’s what it was:

I did finish my 36-Patch quilt:

I made 16 pillowcases, and still have umpteen more cut out, so I will continue to sew them up as time allows (which evidently it doesn’t allow, or I’d have gotten 25 finished). Uff!

I donated 10 quilts to charity through both of my guilds and privately, and also gave away 5 others as gifts ...