reading

Weekly update: projects small and large + reading from With Strings Attached

Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park this weekend: if you look closely you can see a freighter on the horizon.

The beach is back after strong autumn storms with over-wash -- the waves went over the low dunes along the shoreline.

I paced the length of this trunk. It's nearly fifty feet. A year and a half or two years ago it was growing some feet from the beach. The erosion is so severe that it undercut the dune and the tree toppled.

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In the studio:

Our guild has an ornament exchange at the holiday party. Ornaments don't ...

added by Nann 5 days, 6 hours ago. under cwrsrp , design wall monday , illinois beach , monday making , mug rugs , oh scrap! , reading , weekly update

Books, Games, and Pine Tree Point is a Flimsy! from The Modern Diary

I got a surprise package the other day! You may remember I ordered a second blind date with a book from Book_Bestie's Etsy shop. Well, it was lost in the mail so when I contacted her she immediately sent me a new book. Weeks later the lost one arrived. So I get a bonus Blind date! I DNF'ed the replacement book "Wolf Hall" as it just was not doing it for me by the half way point. Excited to try the original second one!

I did the Booktube spin #1 and so my chosen book was Jurassic Park ...

added by Andee 1 week, 1 day ago. under blind date with a book , bonnie's pine tree point , bonnie's rhododendron trail , family game night , once upon a book club , reading , rsc challenge 2021 , tbr challenge

Weekly update: it's a flimsy + next project + reading from With Strings Attached

Earlier in the week we enjoyed lunch with longtime friends Ann and John. How longtime? Ann and Stevens were kindergarten classmates in 1945. We reconnected via Rotary and P.E.O. a couple of years ago.

We came out of the eye doctor's office on Friday afternoon to find that this happened to my car. No, there were no security cameras on that block and, no, the other guy did not leave a note. Fortunately the car is driveable. The claim has been filed and the local body shop (three blocks away) will do the work.

Saturday evening we ...

added by Nann 1 week, 6 days ago. under design wall monday , monday making , mug rugs , oh scrap! , reading , weekly update

H is for Happy and Pine Tree Point Progress from The Modern Diary

Lots more reading going on. I do not even think I took pictures of a few of them. Enjoyed this one, though really weird it kept me turning the pages. This first half was almost normal and then it took a turn which I expected.

I read this one for a facebook book club I am in. Have not read John Saul since I was a teen. Used to love him, but outgrew him. This one was awful! Other people in the group seem to have loved it. I am a snob reader--seriously!

This one was really good! Will need ...

added by Andee 2 weeks, 3 days ago. under bonnie's h is for happy , bonnie's pine tree point , grandbaby hazel , health , reading

Weekly update: goal progress, estate sale, and book reviews from With Strings Attached

It's been a while since I was at the lakefront to get a sunrise photo. This was 7:23 on Saturday -- with the time change it would now be 6:23.

My OMG for November is to quilt three flimsies. Here's the first, quilted and bound. The second is basted and under the needle.

The back used up some long-in-the-stash fabrics.

There was an estate sale in town this weekend. The website photos showed sewing machines, notions, patterns, and a lot of fabric. I went on Friday (opening day) to get an idea. Apparently the woman made clothing ...

added by Nann 2 weeks, 5 days ago. under book reviews , design wall monday , estate sale , monday making , oh scrap! , reading , weekly update

I Hope This is the Start of the Baby Words Series of Baby Quilts from Fret Not Yourself

Beginnings could happen more than once, or in different ways. You could think you were starting something afresh, when actually what you were doing was carrying on as before.

~Rachel Joyce

Quilting

Since this is the third baby quilt with a four letter word, it must mean a new series has begun. The Coins will make words suitable for babies... even if they are FLWs {four-letter-words.} I wrote down several then used an online Scrabble dictionary to find others. {There were amazingly few appropriate ones in the that dictionary.} Now ideas come day and night.

My DIL highlighted the ones ...

added by Ann 2 weeks, 5 days ago. under adding words to quilts , becky chambers , chinese coins , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt

Dear is Another Baby Word from Fret Not Yourself

America is a nation peopled by the world. And we are all Americans.

~Ronald Takaki

Quilting

DEAR is another FLW {four letter word} we use for babies. You have to read line by line. If you read counterclockwise, it becomes DARE.

Dear baby quilt

The Coins are from the same set as LOVE but a couple of the backgrounds are different.

This time I wised up and arranged the letters A and R so they have no points. It's much easier to sew when those pesky points aren't in play. Haha. There's another FLW.

Detail of letter ...

added by Ann 3 weeks, 5 days ago. under adding words to quilts , chinese coins , jesse sutanto , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt

Reading Report from From the Strawberry Patch...

I have been one of the most sporadic bloggers lately, I know that! There are projects afoot and subjects, loads of them, to talk about, that's not the problem; I have no excuses. I hope to post more regularly; the weather's changing and I'm squirreling away books to read in front of the fireplace as the days become shorter and colder. I'd completely gotten away from the D.E.A.R. routine this

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 4 weeks, 1 day ago. under books , reading

Reading Report from From the Strawberry Patch...

I have been one of the most sporadic bloggers lately, I know that! There are projects afoot and subjects, loads of them, to talk about, that's not the problem; I have no excuses. I hope to post more regularly; the weather's changing and I'm squirreling away books to read in front of the fireplace as the days become shorter and colder. I'd completely gotten away from the D.E.A.R. routine this

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 4 weeks, 1 day ago. under books , reading

Reading, Tree Sewing and Hazel Turns One! from The Modern Diary

Hazel turned one last month. She has been walking and signing and even talking a bit for the past few months. Really so much fun! She kept this little hat on for quite a long time during her party too.

I decided to do a blind date with a book. I found Julia on Etsy (BookBestie) and ordered my first date. Here is the lovely package I received. Almost too pretty to open!

The book was "Song of Achilles" which was on my radar to read. It was a good story and my date was successful!

So I decided I ...

added by Andee 1 month ago. under bonnie's pine tree point , grandbaby hazel , once upon a book club , reading

Love is a Baby Word from Fret Not Yourself

Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.

~Yogi Berra

Quilting

Events are superseding quilting. Even with so many calls on my time, I can't quit sewing completely. When I can't sleep, sewing Coins and string soothes me. Lots and lots of columns. Finally I wanted to put one together.

My original plan was to simply sew a Chinese Coin top but when the first columns fell perpendicularly, they brought letters to mind. That sparked the memory of a sign with VO on the first row and TE on the second ...

added by Ann 1 month ago. under chinese coins , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt , susan elia macneil

Briarheart by Mercedes Lackey from Queen of the Unfinished Projects...

So, this is the first book I've managed to read in October. (I know. It's a terrible thing. The lack of reading, that is. The book is wonderful.) It came last weekend. I picked it up from the post office around noon, came home and started reading.

I didn't put it down until the end.

The end came way too soon. I'm hopeful, based solely on one scene in the book with information that as yet has gone nowhere, that there is at least one sequel planned. I would rather have a whole series.

I ~~forced ...~~

added by Queen of the Unfinished Project 1 month, 1 week ago. under book recs , books , favorite authors , new releases , reading , young adult

A quilting we will go................. from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Well, that was an issue yesterday! I had written the post about the UFOs the day before. But halfway through, I decided it wasn't the post I wanted to write that day. That rarely happens, and to avoid accidentally publishing the post, I set a day and time for it to post later. However, when I hit publish yesterday, I FORGOT to change the publishing date. So -- it didn't get posted at the usual time.

A few people alerted me to the fact, but I was just starting the embroidery software club by then, and the post had ...

added by Elaine 1 month, 1 week ago. under customer quilt , neighbourhood , reading , schoolgirl sampler , ufo

Pulling Pastel Scraps from Fret Not Yourself

You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.

C. S. Lewis

Quilting

After a couple of years effort, my stash is much reduced. Years ago I had a single box of fabric for quilting and loved knowing where each fabric was purchased. But after the kids grew up, the stash quickly expanded until I had half a wall of stuff. Even though I sorted by color, I lost track of what was there. And sadly I couldn't remember where most of them were purchased. Now it's again easy to see what I ...

added by Ann 1 month, 1 week ago. under chinese coins , josephine tey , nicola upson , reading , string piecing

My Reading Log- September 2021 from Queen of the Unfinished Projects...

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 ...

added by Queen of the Unfinished Project 1 month, 1 week ago. under books , lists , reading , reading lists , reading log

The Final Squares from Fret Not Yourself

Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things.

~Robert Frost

Quilting

Perhaps that quote applies to quilters, too. Ideas wax and wane. Abilities increase but also decrease with the passing years.

After all those quilts, there are still some squares and blocks remaining. How is it that the more we use our scraps, the more appear? It's very hard to use them all up... especially when they seem to regenerate nightly.

This little quilt combines most of the leftovers. I liked the look of the larger postage stamp quilt so I tried ...

added by Ann 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under j.a. jance , reading , scrap quilt , scrappy trip around the world

A Finish for a Friend from Fret Not Yourself

Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace within difficulties.

~ C.S. Lewis

Quilting

The quilt is finished and gifted to a young man who's been waiting patiently a couple of years. The design looks masculine to me and blue is his favorite color. About a quarter of the squares are still scrap squares but the rest was pulled from my stash.

Postage Stamp quilt with blues

I wanted the back to reflect his love of blues so pulled more yardage from my stash. The largest dark blue is a yard printed with boat-making blueprints. The rest ...

added by Ann 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under postage stamp quilt , reading , vaseem khan

Weekly update: class reunion, quilt show, a finish, and reading from With Strings Attached

The Glenbrook North High School Class of 1970 had not-quite a reunion on Saturday evening. Early in 2020 we began planning. Committee members (of which I'm one) tracked down classmates to get phone numbers and email addresses. We created a Facebook group and used an online class reunion site to try to reach everyone we could. In July, 2020, we realized that the pandemic wasn't going to be over by October so we cancelled the event. We began 2021 with the hope we could pull off a "Fifty Plus One" reunion for October, 2021. Evites went out and ...

added by Nann 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under batik quilt , class reunion , design wall monday , monday making , oh scrap! , quilt show , reading , slab blocks , weekly update

The Mightly Little Hummingbird and #mailart, #snailmail from Bayou Quilts

We visited with Chris, Amelia, and Bryce Eleanor Tuesday night before Chris left for Georgia. A hummingbird had flown into the window and was stunned and unmoving; hours later, it was alive, but still not moving. That night, B.E. and Amelia tried feeding it, and finally did get it to eat a little sugar water, but it couldn't, or wouldn't, fly. Wednesday afternoon, B.E. sent a text message that the tiny creature had successfully overcome the trauma and flown away!

Mail: Finally, I'm beginning to catch up on the mail I owe!

Incoming

Outgoing

To ...

added by jenclair 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under b.e. , books , reading , snail mail

Banned Books from Queen of the Unfinished Projects...

It's Banned Books Week! And I actually remembered to mention it before it was (completely) over! Yay me.

Which banned books are you reading to celebrate?

Confession: I haven't been reading any banned books this week at all. Isn't that sad? I'm still trying to get through my list of half finished books that I started all at once. I did finish two of them yesterday, so at least I've accomplished some tiny little thing this week.

It's all about looking on the bright side, right? Now if I can just get through my ...

added by Queen of the Unfinished Project 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under banned books , books , reading

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