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No change in the numbers.

For various reasons, I did not get my OMG/Short List posted this week before the linky closed. I’m posting a shortened version here.

Project 1 (stitching): Gather & Give Thanks, pattern by Diane Arthurs of Imaginating. It’s coming along.

Project 2 (Original): The nameless tree quilt. It’s time to get back to it.

Project 3 (charity): Traffic Jam quilt, pattern by Pat Sloan. I’m sewing a block here and there while working on other projects.

Project 4 (UFO): Remember Me, a member quilt from a group I belonged to many years ...

No change in the numbers this week.

I have a couple things going in the sewing room. I started piecing more Traffic Jam blocks. This is block #11.

I also blocked an old needlepoint piece I made as a child. I’m sure it hung framed at my parent’s house, but I found it in a drawer with no frame. It was too distorted to try to frame it without blocking.

Both projects came from the piles on the bed of shame.

Fabric In: 35.875 yards

Fabric out: 9.125 yards

Net Fabric In: 26.75 yards

How ...

My November OMG was to finish the challenge quilt, which I named Love Inspired. This was my inspiration for the quilt, just a small portion of the quilt passed to me.

And here is my finished quilt.

I had a lot of fun tucking fabric motifs in the letter collage.

I think the santa is my favorite.

To see all the other OMG projects, visit Stories From the Sewing Room.

Moss on fungus at Lyons Woods on Wednesday. 

Queen Anne's lace is still lacy at Sun Lake on Thursday.

After all that walking (the Sun Lake trail is 2.5 miles) I allowed myself generous portions for Thanksgiving dinner.  

Right:  the heron was intent on the frog it was eating so I could get a close-up photo.  

On a clear day you can see the Chicago skyline from Illinois Beach State Park.  

 I cropped and enlarged the photo and it may be a little blurry.   The dredger is for the shoreline restoration project. Look to the left of it to see the skyscrapers.

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I made a zipper insert for the back.  I learned the technique from Mary Ellen Hopkins and I use it often.  It's ...

On many days Stevens will declare right after lunch that he's ready to go out.   A good habit for both of us.  

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In the studio:  the I Spy ...

 I finished quilting these two Compassion Quilts months ago but I was having a hard time getting them bound.  A huge thanks to a local friend who stepped in and finished them up!

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You are well aware of the saying "measure twice, cut once."  The corollary is "design twice, sew once."  

I was reminded of the corollary as I ripped out a half-dozen blocks and replaced them. I did fuss with the block arrangement before I sewed the rows and I did look to see if the adjacencies worked once the rows were sewn -- but when it came to sewing the rows together I saw too-much-of this or too-much-of-that.   Now I feel better!   Blocks are 6" finished so this is 60 x 72 ...

Left:  the bumblebee was intent on the liatris (blazing star) as I snapped several photos.  

A 2' long eastern fox snake was crossing the path.  It curled up when I stomped.  The snake is not venomous.  It warns predators off by shaking its tail to mimic a rattlesnake.  I saw the behavior as it swished the gravel on the path.  Then it slithered into the undergrowth.  

I found another fringed gentian ...

The first weekend of autumn was great for walks at two sections of Illinois Beach State Park and Lyons Woods Forest Preserve.   

I found a big patch of fringed gentians just one dune over from the beach.  

I use the Picture This app to identify plants.  All it says about mushrooms is, "Do Not Eat!"  

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Though some rearranging and refurbishing had been done over the years, this was a full-scale reworking. New carpet! New furniture ...

August was a calmer month, but we attended a lot of weekend events that took advantage of the last of summer. I finished two projects, my sister’s quilt and Words of Joy Tree.

That created spots for new things on the list.

I started The Short List many years ago to create goals to work toward and a way to focus. I change things up as my goals and interests change.

Project 1 (stitching): Gather & Give Thanks, pattern by Diane Arthurs of Imaginating. I started it last night.

Project 2 (UFO): I’m quilting the next challenge, due this ...

I finished hike #9 for the annual Hike Lake County challenge.  Independence Grove  is more like a city park than a forest preserve. It is really crowded on the weekends (I know from previous visits) but this particular Monday afternoon it wasn’t very busy. The hiking “trail” is a blacktop bike path.

Mountain mint, evening primrose, joe pye week. American white waterlily, elderberry "lace," goldenrod. Dogwood.

"Something yellow" was my stated One Monthly Goal for August.  I'm counting this quilt and Borderlands ...

NOTE:  see previous post for wildflowers and forest preserves.

I went to the ophtamologist yesterday (hence this delayed post).  My corneas are reshaping gradually, which is good. My next appt. is in October.  

The back is a cheater cloth print from the 2022 birthday stash bash.   

 I'm getting accustomed to wearing eyeglasses rather than contact lenses but I still don't like it!  I had an appointment with the retina specialist yesterday and will have an in-office procedure next week to repair a small hole.  (Unexpected exchange between the doctor and the  assistant:  "What's the best Nirvana song to start with?")  DH had a neuropsychiatric evaluation Wednesday; results to come. I was relieved that he was perfectly willing to go through the two-hour testing. 

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June was a productive month. I finished two stitches, Floral Butterfly and the star ornament. The ornament wasn’t on my June list.

I started The Short List many years ago to create goals to work toward and a way to focus. I change things up as my goals and interests change.

Project 1 (stitching): Words of Joy Tree, pattern by Ursula Michael. I’m stitching this on red 14 count aida with DMC white, all from stash.

Project 2 (UFO): The membership quilt. The two sections are complete and ready to quilt.

Project 3 (original): The challenge due in ...

It's so good to be home! Yes -- I'm now home for at least three weeks -- can you believe that? I can barely believe it, and the even better news is that my commitments are much fewer this month, so it'll positively feel like a vacation! I'm going to be totally lost! 

OK -- that's a lie since I have some long-arm quilting to do, blog posts to write, articles to put together, plans for the fall quilts, and a lot more paperwork, but I won't have so much happening on the weekends. Yeah!

We all ...

 Car update:  the right control arm had failed.  I had never heard of that part and looked it up.  The control arms are one of the core components of a suspension system and serve as the direct connection points between the front wheel assemblies and the vehicle's frame. The control arms allow a driver to steer a car while also guiding the wheels up and down with the road surface. Although they are simplistic in appearance, control arms have a vital role in a vehicle's overall stability and drivability.    $943.95.  

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