Yes, it's still summer. I know that. The kiddos have gone back to school here this week, school buses are out and about. It's not yet fall but somehow it seems like we're in an in-between season. Even as I say that though, ninety degree temperatures are forecast here all week; yanking me back to reality. My zeal for finishing projects remains high. "Amarillo Skies, Revised" has had the binding
read moreYes, it's still summer. I know that. The kiddos have gone back to school here this week, school buses are out and about. It's not yet fall but somehow it seems like we're in an in-between season. Even as I say that though, ninety degree temperatures are forecast here all week; yanking me back to reality. My zeal for finishing projects remains high. "Amarillo Skies, Revised" has had the binding
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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 ...
read moreOh dear --- I may have to switch out the grass on my blocks for Down on the Farm. I will evaluate it this morning and make a decision. I am going to redo the turtle block as well. This quilt is darn cute!!! And I am on the final block!!! This one also has grass in it, and well, maybe I can switch out the green, and if I like it, then I'll have to remake that section of the rooster block. It wouldn't be a lot of work. Maybe that's why I stopped at that point ...
read moreYou are right -- 30 years is NOT old for a house, but the electrical stuff in the house is old! Many of the plugs were outdated or broken. That is not good news for safety and for our environment! Yet again!!!
OH MY -- I never thought about the QUILTsocial blog posts and AI. But you are right—you cannot tell it is AI. The voices and conversation are super smooth and sound just like two people casually talking - literally the way you would have a conversation in a podcast. DH says, I should be happy that it's NOT my ...
read moreOH MY --- I had to finish that book (Grounds for Murder by Betty Ternier Daniels) last night. I think it was 8 hours in total, but since I was busy sewing this intense quilt block, I had to turn it off each time I needed to find pieces to sew. There are so many similar sizes, and obviously you are sewing two different fabrics together - I had to do a wee bit of unripping from time to time.
But you are NOT going to believe this. At one point in the book, the main character mentions a small village in ...
read moreThanks for all the comments. YES --- most of those exercises can be done while waiting for oatmeal to cook! I just need to remember to do them. The alternative will not be pretty, so it is a priority. I did some at the dinner table to demonstrate to DH how easy they are. I even told him that he should be doing them as well. He's in much worse shape than I, and it's simply because he does nothing.
Brooke will definitely be part of this "recovery" mission, and I'll share with her next week.
As for ...
read moreI think I'm going to have to give up my day job and look into working for a packing company! Yes, I unpacked 13 embroidery units for the NEW PFAFF creative icon 3 in 30 minutes! Once you get the hang of how it's packaged and what you want from the box, it's super easy. And it helps to be agile when maneuvering the case the embroidery unit is packed in. It's still a large box, but it's an engineering feat! I can't say enough about the box for the embroidery unit. It's ...
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| Red Cross layout |
Wednesday's guild meeting was the annual ice cream social and the 2026 mystery quilt reveal. A guild member designed Big Bang.
Mine is the one with the gray background, middle row/far right.
I've been taken by all the red/white quilts that Lynn/Klein Meisje has made recently. Since I'm in between projects I pulled out all the scrap triangles from the box where I toss them and made HSTs (1.5"-3.5"). While I was at it I sewed some blue/yellow HSTs as well.
The guild charity challenge qilts are due at the ...
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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.
Monday: Prickly pear cactus are in bloom at Illinois Beach State Park. Each petal is tipped with a sharp spine. They like the sandy soil of the dunes.
Tuesday: I put the camera on selfie to take this from-below photo of a Turk's-cap lily. (In another section of the state park with 'regular,' not sandy, soil.) I love the turned-back petals and the freckled faces.
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In the studio:
Design adapted ...
read moreI typically stay at Holiday Inns, and when I arrive in the room, it is COLD, so I have to turn the thermostat up a couple of degrees to turn the fan/air conditioning off. I have no issues putting on a sweater, but I am not a fan of cold rooms when I'm traveling, since I don't typically have my warm clothes with me.
Something very unusual happened on my reading lists. I typically have an e-book and an audiobook on the go at the same time. BOTH books I'm currently reading are related to a ...
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Mid-June wildflowers on my walks this week. Clockwise: coneflower, purple meadow-rue, beardtongue foxglove, wild indigo, more beardtongue, clover, field bindweed. Center: the trail at Lyons Woods.
Spangled fritillary and what I think is celestrina echo (I enlarged the snapshot of this little blue butterfly).
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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 ...
Wednesday: Sophie hosted the online Block Lotto for many years. I joined BL about 2009 and enjoyed the monthly block designs. I won the Lotto several times.
Sophie is now traveling the country in an Airstream Sprinter van. The last couple of weeks she's followed Route 66 but in reverse, meaning that she ended in Chicago. She headed north and we met for lunch at a newly-renovated cafe in downtown Zion.
I showed her Illinois Beach State Park where I take so many walks.
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| Leftovers for two more dinners |
Amazing how quickly time flies by these days.
Been 2 weeks already since I last wrote, and I have so much to tell you about.
When I last spoke to you, I spent that following week helping my youngest daughter move to a new home in the town she lives in. I was very surprised that after 4 days of packing, moving, and unpacking, I felt great. I figured I would be sore and worthless for the next week, but that wasn’t the case; just tired. Thank goodness because while at her place, I got the call that the ...
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The rain forecast today will be most welcome. I planted tomatoes, beans, and lettuce earlier this week.
It was great to have lunch with Pat yesterday. She lives 60 miles from me and we don't get to visit in person often enough. We rediscovered an Indian restaurant we found by accident a couple of years ago--we'd both forgotten about it until I turned onto that road, then we both remembered. It was a good choice.
Why, yes, I can write a blog post on Saturday!
I'm making it easy on myself with RSC this year. 15" x 5" Chinese coins blocks in each monthly color. The pattern that you can see in the photo is from an old issue of Quiltmaker.
Let's start with the puzzle stores - actually, there are many sources of puzzles, but here are the main ones that I know of.
Puzzles Canada - Georgetown. A warehouse of puzzles that is open to the public, and they sell MANY brands, sizes, and offer free shipping over a certain amount. You also get 10% back in reward points, which you can apply to any future purchase. They also sell The Occurrence puzzles, which are made in Merrickville, Ontario. HIGHLY recommend visiting the store or the website. Check the website for hours as they do NOT open until NOON.
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