The social whirl is underway!
The GFWC-IL District 10 luncheon was on Wednesday. We played Santa bingo. I won $41 in the split-the-pot raffle.
There was a Christmas tree trivia quiz. The average artificial tree is used for 6 years (and is in the landfill forever).....Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states....Calvin Coolidge began the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in 1923.
Friday evening we enjoyed dinner with Rotary friends prior to the Carthage College Christmas Festival
Familiar carols and other old and new songs, with splendid choral and instrumental music.
Sunday brought a dusting of snow. It looks pretty and I am glad it won't last long.
Photo taken at the state park. I stopped on the way home from church but I didn't take a walk!
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I've made many of the Quiltville mysteries. I was greatly disappointed in two of them Grand Illusion and Rhododendron Trail) and skipped their immediate successors, Allietare and Chilhowie. Those turned out to be designs I liked.
Now it's time for Indigo Way. I've decided to give it a go.I have a hoard of South African indigos but ...
read moreRight: the heron was intent on the frog it was eating so I could get a close-up photo.
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 ...
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On many days Stevens will declare right after lunch that he's ready to go out. A good habit for both of us.
Yesterday's baby shower (for which I made the quilt I showed last Wednesday) was cancelled. The mother-to-be was having false labor. (No baby yet, though.) It was a good thing I hadn't given away our tickets to the LCCCA performance. The Suits were great!
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In the studio: the I Spy ...
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I love living close to the airport. Our house is not situated under a flight path, we are slightly to the south, although we can see when planes land at both runways and there are occasions when we can hear the planes. We are close enough to identify the airline of the planes! But it's such a low noise, dependent on the cloud cover, and we don't hear the wheels open nor the takeoff and landing noises that I'm OK with it. I love watching the planes come in.
But there is another reason I love living ...
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Fall foliage is on display here in northeasternmost Illinois. We enjoyed walks to Illinois Beach State Park, Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve, and Pine Dunes Forest Preserve.
It's not as breathtaking as northern New England but it is pretty darned beautiful!
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I need a better name ...
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Someone commented on the blog yesterday about the reason I went on the Camino. That was learning to slow down and live here and now. I can't do that 100%, but that's partially why it's taking me so long to get back into the swing of things.
I do NOT want to be crazy busy - I want to be active but not go insane. Elle -- thank you for that reminder. It will take me some time to be comfortable with that concept, and I'm already looking forward to reducing more things in the new year.
On ...
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At Greenbelt Forest Preserve on Friday.
I was about 8 feet away from the deer. Allegheny blackberry, tall goldenrod. Leaves of compass plant (one green, one gold), more Allegheny blackberry. Dogwood, asters.
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I finished quilting Go Scrappy or Go Home (see last Wednesday's post). It didn't take long for me to start something new.
I was mindful of the advice that Lynn (Klein Meisje) gave in the workshop back in April about combining genres and prints -- pay attention to contrast rather than genre and it will all go together.I used a lot of 6.5" squares acquired ...
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The first weekend of autumn was great for walks at two sections of Illinois Beach State Park and Lyons Woods Forest Preserve.
I use the Picture This app to identify plants. All it says about mushrooms is, "Do Not Eat!"
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The grand opening of the library's remodeled adult services section was Saturday afternoon. The building opened in 2000. I was the director from 2003-2014.Though some rearranging and refurbishing had been done over the years, this was a full-scale reworking. New carpet! New furniture ...
read moreA few weeks ago another torn-from-a-magazine pattern came to the top of the stack. It had been a while since I made a mostly black and white quilt. Cutting the strips was the easy part. I didn't have enough of any one black/white and white/black print for the borders and made a point of buying those at the Wisconsin quilt show.
The sewing wasn't difficult but I had to cut more strips and more strips. I arranged and rearranged to get the print density balanced. (And now that I look at it, more balancing might be ...
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Crossroads 2 baby quilt |
SHOOT --- I forgot to mention yesterday that the Heartfelt Sampler is a ZOOM class. So, if you are interested in signing up, send me an e-mail, and I'll get you the details and how to get signed up and get your pattern. elainetheriault@gmail.com
Yep --- I know I must follow up with the doctor and my knee. Just seems like there is NO time, but I NEED to make time. I have already had X-rays and an ultrasound but haven't called for the results yet. I may need to go to an MRI, but let's see ...
read moreI've learned a LOT along the way while the wrist is healing. Time doesn't slow down, or stop, when one's casted. Nope, it's business as usual. Augie turned eleven months old on Wednesday! He's my best snuggle buddy and resting companion when I need that. I can tell when I've done enough for the day and it's time to lay low. Fine motor skills are slowly returning and strengthening, (I can pinch
read moreI've learned a LOT along the way while the wrist is healing. Time doesn't slow down, or stop, when one's casted. Nope, it's business as usual. Augie turned eleven months old on Wednesday! He's my best snuggle buddy and resting companion when I need that. I can tell when I've done enough for the day and it's time to lay low. Fine motor skills are slowly returning and strengthening, (I can pinch
read more