reading

Midweek: slight progress + reading from With Strings Attached

On the domestic front: every so often a puddle appeared in the basement bathroom (adjacent to the family room, AKA my studio). The plumber checked the toilet and the seal/collar are good. This week I saw the puddle again--and heard drip-drip-drip. Turns out it came from the dishwasher (right above the closet that is next to the basement bathroom). The plumber popped the panel off the dishwasher and said the pipes are fine, the problem is the spray arm/drain assembly. I called the appliance store (we are so fortunate to have a real appliance store in our town ...

added by Nann 2 hours, 5 minutes ago. under neckties , reading , wednesday wait loss

Friday check in: it's a flimsy + reading from With Strings Attached

No meetings, too cold to walk + an audiobook I had to finish (see below) = a flimsy.

6-1/4 yards by weight.

Here's a closeup of the border/sashing fabric. The black/gray on jade goes well with the black/white blocks.

I cut as many 2.5" squares as I could from what was left in this particular scrap box and made four-patches. After I took the photo I put all of them in a ziploc bag to await a future project.

# # # # # #

Sixteen + hours of listening with excellent narrators. It's a picaresque novel (remember that from English class ...

added by Nann 5 days, 1 hour ago. under finished or not friday , nine patch quilts , reading

You be the look out! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Yes -- I restocked the retreat supply box with a spool of black and a spool of white thread, and I put a spool on the sewing machine. All set for the next retreat.

My SIL finished her quilt top and the backing last night. I have realized that my space is not configured for two people to work. Yikes! But all will be good, and I did manage to piece together one thing myself, so I was happy. It's part of the weekend homework, and I took lots of pictures, so I just need to get them into the ...

added by Elaine 1 week ago. under backyard , customer quilt , jigsaw puzzles , lexi , murphy , reading

Weekly update: parties and scraps + reading from With Strings Attached

Friday evening: the 151st annual Carthage College Christmas Festival. The college chapel is a beautiful setting for the splendid music.

Rotary friends and family had dinner at a Kenosha restaurant beforehand.

Kaylynn, whose family is in the top photo, is a freshman at Carthage this year and in the orchestra. Donna and I (lower photo) have known her since she was born.

Saturday began with the funeral for our Rotary friend Nate at a church in Waukegan. It was a chilly service because the church furnace was on the blink. (Ironically Nate was a long-time trustee so just a few ...

added by Nann 1 week, 2 days ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , mug rugs , oh scrap! , reading , sew and tell , weekly update

How do you measure a meter? from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

It was a wild night! I hate it when you go to bed tired but can't fall asleep. The last couple of nights, I've been tired and tried to read my book. I could barely read a couple of pages, and I was fast asleep. Last night? Not happening. So I read more and more pages of the book. Let's say this is one of those psychological thrillers that well --- do you want to know what happens? This one is called Watch out for her" by Samantha J. Bailey, and it was creepy from the opening sentence ...

added by Elaine 1 week, 6 days ago. under dessert , jigsaw puzzles , quilt retreat , reading , spring house retreat , technology

Midweek: bows in rows + reading from With Strings Attached

Late November in the state park: deep red Virginia creeper, new lichen, oak leaves, and the starry remains of asters.

In domestic news: as I wrote Monday, I bought a turkey though I'm going to friends' for Thanksgiving. I roasted the turkey yesterday. I carved it with portions now in the freezer. I made stock from the carcass.

There wasn't much left when I went to Stiles, the produce/flower stand just over the border in Wisconsin. Susan will close up next Sunday. She takes the holidays off and will get back to the greenhouse in January.

# # # # #

In ...

added by Nann 3 weeks ago. under bow ties , reading , scrap quilts , wednesday wait loss

Travel day again! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

I goofed!!! The painted eyes on Cathy's raccoons were done by Cloe, not Colette! Cathy has way too many quilting friends and sisters—I can't keep them straight! Thanks for the correction!

There was one thing that I wanted to check for at the old farmhouse to see if I could find it. I had found a flat box of paper dolls a couple of years ago. I set it aside, and as we rushed to leave the house with our other treasures, I left it on top of a cupboard. The next time I went, I didn ...

added by Elaine 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under farm , reading , saskatchewan , travel day

Friday check in: end of the garden, packing, some sewing + reading from With Strings Attached

The geraniums are having a late-season burst of energy. I moved them to the back patio to make room for a mum and pumpkin on the front stoop.

The tomatoes are over. The crop was nice this year, especially for the grape and cherry varieties.

The zinnias I planted are still blooming and there are a couple of hopeful (or foolish) buds.

My preoccupation is preparing for my long-awaited trip to Italy. I leave tomorrow! It will be my 51st Road Scholar program: Rome, Florence, Venice. Home October 23. Temperatures there will be mid-70's during the day and mid-50 ...

added by Nann 2 months, 1 week ago. under finished or not friday , off the wall friday , reading

Midweek: dolls, a finish, WIP + reading from With Strings Attached

"Oh, You Beautiful Doll" was the program at yesterday's Zion Woman's Club meeting. Lorna began collecting and recreating antique dolls in the 1990's. She has traveled all over the country to doll competitions (she's won!), sold supplies, and taught classes. She makes the porcelain heads and bodies herself. She brought samples of heads as greenware (rather squishy), bisque (first firing), and porcelain (second firing). She makes all clothes including the shoes (leather sourced from old gloves). Most of the club members have known Lorna for many years but none of us knew the details about her ...

added by Nann 2 months, 1 week ago. under reading , rsc 2025 , wednesday wait loss , zwc

What are you reading? from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Oh, I love your comments, and I'm a bit behind in responding to them! Patience! And yes, I think using ChatGPT is a matter of experience, and I'm brand new to it. I need more information, Tammy - like, did he get it saved to a PDF, and if so, I would love a copy!

Not to tempt fate or anything, but I am having the most relaxing days and no dreams last night - at least none that I remembered. After I delivered my project (more on the project in a second), I had time to spend a leisurely ...

added by Elaine 2 months, 1 week ago. under exit game , flowers , lexi , mount kilimanjaro , murphy , reading , studio b , sunrise , supplements

Weekly update: a destash, almost a flimsy, RSC October + reading from With Strings Attached

Old School Forest Preserve

Chicagoland is officially in a drought but the cloudless skies ("100% of available sunshine") and warm temperatures are the kind of weather I'd like to bottle.

At Van Patten Woods on Friday: sulfur butterfly on New England aster, viceroy butterfly, yellow wooly bear caterpillar.

The viceroy is a monarch mimic. The visible difference is the black band across the lower wing. (Read about other differences in this article)

# # # # #

A friend moved to assisted living earlier this year. There was an estate sale at her house this weekend. I bought a trundle bed and because I ...

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

Back home - AGAIN! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

OH MY GOSH --- If I read Torry's comment correctly, she has a couple of the Nancy Drews with a 1938 copyright!! What a treasure! While I'm not a fan of most old things, I love old books! What a find, Torry! Be sure to reread them -- they are fun!

The new audiobook that I listened to on the way home - well, I wish the drive was longer! I'm just getting into the storyline, and it's a puzzler! While there is murder, it's more of a puzzle-type mystery and involves antiques! It's called "The Antique ...

added by Elaine 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under antiques , reading , svp events , travel

Weekly update: quilt show, a new trail, some quilting + reading from With Strings Attached

The Southport Quilt Guild holds its annual show at the Anderson Arts Center on the lakefront in Kenosha. The quilts are hung by the arts center staff and the show is up for a month. There's no admission fee.

View of the lake from a second-floor window. Podgaji "flags" guided visitors to the front door.

There were 75? or so quilts on display.

This was fun! Each visitor got a clipboard with a scavenger hunt sheet. ("How many points are in the star in quilt #70?" "Which quilt is named Daniel?" "What color is the center pinwheel on quilt ...

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

Friday check in: wildflower goal, placemats, and reading from With Strings Attached

Two of my favorite wildflowers are in bloom now. They're hard to find but I remembered where I saw them last year. And there they were!

Fringed gentian -- you can see the fringes at the edges of the petals. They like sunshine and moist (but not wet) soil. The lake prairie at Illinois Beach State Park is just right.

Some have a single stem and others have multiple stems.

Such a beautiful blue!

Bottle gentian is hard to find. They like moist soil and partial shade. The flowers never open! Native bumblebees are the only pollinators strong enough to ...

added by Nann 2 months, 4 weeks ago. under finished or not friday , off the wall friday , placemats , reading , wildflowers

Blue and White Shirts from Fret Not Yourself

A pessimist, they say, sees a glass as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.

~G. Donald Gale

Quilting

I started my blue and white shirt quilt saga years ago before DH himself retired. Whenever he retired a shirt, I checked it over and kept it if it was in good shape. I soon realized they are almost all blue or white. All solids or very calm prints. Recently more came from my sons and a few ...

added by Ann 3 months, 1 week ago. under mai mochizuki , quilts from shirts , reading , scrap quilt

String Hatchet Top Finished... Perhaps from Fret Not Yourself

I wanted a perfect ending.

Now I've learned, the hard way,

that some poems don't rhyme,

and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking a moment

and making the most of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.

~Gilda Radner

Quilting

This top has taken a long time... partly {or mostly} because I've been gone so frequently this summer. However, it's finally done... perhaps. I think I'd like a border of random green scraps and a second border of lights ...

added by Ann 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under hatchet , katarina bivald , reading , string piecing

FEVER! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

I am a bit of a dolt, but we all knew that! I struggled a little bit with fatigue yesterday, but there wasn't an opportunity to take a nap. That's OK. But by 7:00 PM, I knew something else was wrong. OH MY GOODNESS -- I have a fever! 38.5! That would be a result of the vaccinations I had the previous day! I don't know how long I had the fever, but it was when my body just said, "we're done," that it crossed my mind!

Having said that, I took some medication (although ...

added by Elaine 4 months, 3 weeks ago. under backyard , mini shoes , packing , protein bars , reading , shoes , vaccination

Midweek: flimsy, WITB comes out, and a good book from With Strings Attached

I walked along a shady trail at Van Patten Woods on Monday afternoon. I turned a corner and there was a whole patch of my favorite Turk's cap lilies.

Lots of black raspberries, too. I plucked a few and ate 'em on the spot.

No long walk yesterday, just a stroll around the neighborhood after dinner.

# # # # #

I assembled the guild challenge quilt and made a placemat out of some of the scraps. (Still a surprise so no photos.)

For many, many years I participated in the Baseball Swap where we swapped 6.5" fabric squares according to how many ...

added by Nann 5 months ago. under reading , wednesday wait loss , wildflowers

Friday check in: wildflowers, a little sewing, and a lot of reading from With Strings Attached

Turk's cap lilies are in bloom. I love their curled petals and freckled faces. (Photos from Volo Bog and Illinois Beach State Park.)

The garden yielded enough basil for a big batch of pesto. I freeze it in 1-T portions. [For each 2 cups of basil: 2 tsp garlic, 1/2 c grated Parmesan, 1/2 c walnuts (cheaper than pignoli), 1/2 c olive oil, salt.]

I had three routine medical procedures this week. Two sets of results are in, one to come. I am not worried.

On the other hand, the Janome is in the shop. The ...

added by Nann 5 months, 1 week ago. under finished or not friday , reading , top-along

A New String Quilt Idea from Fret Not Yourself

The first casualty of war is the truth.

~Aeschylus

Quilting

Since I've made so many Four-letter-word quilts, I'm down to pretty dull and dark colors in my scrap bag: black, brown, greens, with a few purples and reds. I've been wondering what to make with these when I was reminded of the Hatchet blocks. What if the blocks were made of strings and split between light and dark sides?

These first pieces were made last summer but I found them in the orphan box.

They look well on the pink and grey print background. Time to make ...

added by Ann 5 months, 2 weeks ago. under max wallace , reading , scrap quilt , scrap strips

What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?