What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 

Chilly but sunny, no breeze this afternoon for a walk in the ravine at the end of our block. The skunk cabbages are in bloom -- this one has leaves beginning to unfurl.

Here are my new socks from Zkano, made in Alabama. Not only do they have great designs, but the socks are very comfortable (nonbinding tops that stay up).

On Thursday I enjoyed the luncheon meeting of the Clara Cummings Book Club. The entertainment was a reenactor portraying Princess Diana. She cleverly began, "You know I am dead, of course," so we the audience knew that she knew what ...

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I was at the marina on Tuesday to see the sun rise on the solstice -- 7:14 a.m.   (I went out at 4 p.m. to try to get the sunset but it was overcast.)

Yesterday we enjoyed pre-Christmas luncheon with my sister and her husband at their house.  No photos, just good conversation.  We had delicious crockpot venison from the deer my sister shot and field-dressed herself!

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The slab quilt is finished!  

A scrappy top deserves a scrappy back. I remember getting the tropical floral on the right when we were in Bermuda in 2008.  (Up close these ...

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 The ornaments I hung along the trail last week pretty much survived the severe winds (gusts of 65 mph on Wednesday).   Two had blown off their hangers onto the ground and I rehung them. Some lost the red paint (lower right).  And two were joined by someone else's contributions. 

We enjoyed the Lake County Symphony Orchestra Christmas concert on Saturday evening.   They played woodwind, strings, and brass medleys  of Christmas songs arranged by Leroy Anderson and the entire orchestra played Anderson's well-known Sleigh Ride.

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In the studio:   I finished step 3 of the Rhododendron Trail mystery.  I ran ...

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 There were more festive gatherings this week.  On Monday evening my P.E.O. chapter met for dinner at a restaurant. We exchanged holiday socks (a chapter tradition). Everyone brought gift cards that I will deliver to a local agency.  

On Tuesday the Zion Woman's Club had a holiday luncheon.  I didn't get a photo of my vintage Christmas tablecloths in use.  We had box lunches which made serving very easy.  A white elephant exchange meant each of us got something to take home.  We also collected food for the two local food pantries. That all went into ...

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 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 ...

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Welcome autumn!  A cold front came through on Tuesday and the temperature dropped 10+ degrees. Our afternoon outing to Lyons Woods was very comfortable both for me to walk and for Stevens as he sat in the car.  (He's unable to walk long distances -- especially at the pace I've developed over this past year of near-daily walks!)

Oriental bittersweet or spindleberry.  The vine grew across a 2" gap (right photo) to wind around the tree trunk (left photo).  I've only seen bittersweet at Lyons Woods.

Left: the rose hips from Japanese or Seven Sisters roses look more ...

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I made twenty batik crumb blocks. I planned to sash them shadowbox style and auditioned some fabrics.   In addition to this purple/turquoise combo I tried a white batik but that contrast was too stark.  [Of course I am using only what I have on hand.]
 

Then I found a lovely soft brown/tan Indian batik (part of this gift).  I was so sure it would be ideal that I cut all the sashing. 

I wanted low-volume but it was TOO low-volume and the colorful mix of the crumbs got lost.  

I tried a third time, and here's how ...

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Rabbit, rabbit! Here's the March Hare to bring in the new month.

(The February 28 Google doodle commemorated Sir John Tenniel's 200th birthday)

The GFWC-IL Tenth District art show/luncheon was Wednesday.   I entered Crown of Thorns in
Category 5 (Embroidery, Quilting, Tatting) (a strange combination, considering that "wall hangings" is a separate category) and won second place.  P.E.O. friends Jeannine and Nancy, both members of the Antioch Woman's Club, won ribbons, as did Regina and Judy who are fellow members of the Zion Woman's Club (the one I belong to).

Stash report for ...

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The setting for the log cabin blocks (see the previous posts) continues to elude me. I have an idea but I need to let it simmer for a while longer.

Meanwhile I wanted to have some accomplishment so I assembled the black/white slab blocks.    They look more jumbly in the photo than in person . . . but now it has a name:  Jumble.

Five yards (by weight) in the "fabric used" column.   It's 54" x 69".

And, no, the shoebox of black/white strips and squares is not empty.

Linking up with Midweek Makers

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