reading

Weekly update: welcome autumn, three brown bears,, and reading from With Strings Attached

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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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 ...

added by Nann 7 months ago. under design wall monday , oh scrap! , reading , scrap quilts , sew and tell , weekly update

Midweek: a new flimsy + reading from With Strings Attached

A 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 ...

added by Nann 7 months, 1 week ago. under black white quilt , midweek makers , reading , wednesday wait loss

Crossroads Baby Quilt 2 from Fret Not Yourself

A lie ain't a side of the story; it's just a lie.

~The Wire (TV series)

Quilting

This quilt uses up all the remaining Crossroads blocks. Most of the background colors are organized into columns. Although many of them are dark, the quilt still works.

Crossroads 2 baby quilt

The very last Crossroads block is on the back - just to move them all out. I thought it would be an easy back but had to paw through a lot of remnants to find a group that works with the block. The outer blue fabric is new this year ...

added by Ann 7 months, 2 weeks ago. under crossroads blocks , cultural fusion quilts , julie otsuka , leftover blocks , reading , scrap quilt

Used books from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

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 ...

added by Elaine 7 months, 3 weeks ago. under charity quilts , lexi , magazines , reading , serger , studio b

Along The Way... from From the Strawberry Patch...

I'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

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 7 months, 3 weeks ago. under augie , embroidery floss , grandchildren , kitchen , movies , reading , stitching

Along The Way... from From the Strawberry Patch...

I'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

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 7 months, 3 weeks ago. under augie , embroidery floss , grandchildren , kitchen , movies , reading , stitching

Up-to-DATE!!! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Wow -- where does the time go? I was doing something this morning and thought -- just a few more minutes. A half-hour later, I look up and take a breath!

I had a good chuckle this morning as I surveyed Studio B. It will NEVER be tidy. I will NEVER get all the projects completed that are sitting out. It just isn't going to happen! But I'll keep plugging away, and who knows -- maybe someday it'll look better. However, it's a WORKING studio -- the stuff never stays in one place for long before it does get finished ...

added by Elaine 7 months, 4 weeks ago. under barn star sampler , reading , svp events

Midweek: a finish for OMG August + wildflowers + reading from With Strings Attached

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.

The blue/yellow/green quilt is quilted and bound. I used one fabric for the back.

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

added by Nann 8 months ago. under lake county forest preserves , midweek makers , omg 2023 , reading , rsc 2023 , scrap quilts , wednesday wait loss

Optical Illusion 2 Finished from Fret Not Yourself

If you work with your hands you're a laborer. If you work with your hands and your head, you're a craftsman. If you work with your hands and your head and your heart, you're an artist.

~St. Francis

Quilting

Of course it's spiral quilted because very little shows on printed fabrics and the spiral strengthens the spherical illusion.

Optical Illusion 2 quilt

Look how different this quilt is from the first Optical Illusion. Same size and blocks; the only difference is the values themselves and their order.

Optical Illusion 1 quilt

As I wrote before, the ...

added by Ann 8 months ago. under andy weir , optical illusion , reading , scrap quilt

Fabrics for the Back of Optical Illusion 2 from Fret Not Yourself

The game isn't over till it's over.

~Yogi Berra

Quilting

Remember this top from spring? It’s a game that isn’t over even though it was “rain-delayed”. I meant to quilt it immediately but got sidetracked by finding all those Ocean Wave units. Who’d have realized it would take all summer to finish one OW quilt? And it's still not done; the weather is simply too hot to work on it now.

Junk lying around bothers me. Unfinished projects and excessive amounts of materials become junk. Yes, I’m a minority voice but stuff that ...

added by Ann 8 months, 2 weeks ago. under christmas stockings , lucy gilmore , maggie tokuda-hall , optical illusion , reading , scrap quilt

Weekly update: this way and that way + reading from With Strings Attached

I've gotten a slew of spam comments today. I'll turn on comment moderation for a while.

Scarlet lobelia or cardinal flower. I've only found it in one patch among all of the forest preserves. It shines like a jewel in the sunlight that filters through the trees.

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Saturday was sunny with low humidity and a nice breeze. Perfect for Beach Park Fest where I helped staff the Rotary booth. I remarked that among the four of us we know many people in the community but we recognized very few of the people who came past our display ...

added by Nann 8 months, 2 weeks ago. under design wall monday , oh scrap! , reading , sew and tell , weekly update

Quilting Ocean Waves Again from Fret Not Yourself

Through (Fannie Lou Hamer’s) example, I learned to think less about what I don’t have and instead focus on what I do have and how it can be be of use in the service of others.

~Keisha Blain

Quilting

Since this is a large project I’m quilting on my home machine, my first step is to quilt the main diagonals… again. Done without tucks this time. Next I found straight lines the length and width of the OWs. Now I’m trying to fill in by ditch stitching all the remaining triangles because many of these pieces ...

added by Ann 9 months, 2 weeks ago. under dipo faloyin , ocean waves , reading , walking foot quilting

Sorting and filing from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Oh shoot -- I forgot to post these other empty things from the previous day! I emptied TWO bobbins from my machine embroidery project!

Two empty bobbins

Yeah! It's always exciting when you actually use/finish up things that you have. No -- it doesn't mean I can buy more as I do not need more. I have loads of bobbin thread.

As for that digital sorting? I'm making progress. While I'm good at creating file structures, I'm equally as bad at randomly loading files in the root directory for convenience. So, I went through my OneDrive ...

added by Elaine 9 months, 4 weeks ago. under binding , charity quilts , digital sorting , footwear , neighbohood , reading , scraps

A Big Pleat on the Back from Fret Not Yourself

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man;

true nobility is being superior to your former self.

~Ernest Hemingway

Quilting

Two weeks of guests with heat advisories daily. No rain; temps well over 101 F (38 C) but no fires. It meant everything we did was inside. Fortunately, the A/C only went out once. It finally rained Sunday and we are grateful the temperatures have dropped 10 degrees. Funny how the heat wave made mid-90s seem cool.

Guests left yesterday so I returned to quilting. I’m still having major difficulties posting photos but that pales ...

added by Ann 9 months, 4 weeks ago. under claire keegan , ocean waves , quilting , reading

In the gazebo with a book! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

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 ...

added by Elaine 10 months ago. under geocaching , lexi , murphy , reading , retreat , scrap quilts , scraps

Choosing a Back for Ocean Waves from Fret Not Yourself

The trouble with blaming the powerless is that although it's not nearly as scary as blaming the powerful, it does miss the point. Poor people do not shut down factories... Poor people didn't decide to use 'contract employees' because they cost less and don't get any benefits.

~Molly Ivins

Quilting

As I've repeated ad nauseam, the point is to use up more of my ancient stash... especially larger yardages. There's about four yards of this darling owl print which I purchased because it's my college mascot. Fortunately, it's also DH's mascot so ...

added by Ann 10 months, 1 week ago. under making a quilt back , marple , ocean waves , reading

Mom - Can I come? from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Phew -- another event done, and for those that could not attend, well, you missed a TON of information. Everyone left the events with loads of inspiration and knowledge that they were NOT expecting when they arrived! I like when that happens!

The drive was fine both ways, although I was getting a bit tired as I neared home, as it was well past my usual bedtime by then. But I'm listening to The Pearl Sister, the fourth book in The Seven Sisters series. Someone (I think it was one of you) mentioned they did NOT like this book, and ...

added by Elaine 10 months, 2 weeks ago. under knee , lexi , murphy , reading , svp events

Bordering the Waves from Fret Not Yourself

To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition;

the end to which every enterprise and labour tends.

~Samuel Johnson

Quilting

Is it just me or is anyone else having difficulty adding photos to their posts? I've sent messages to Google but have yet to see an improvement. Eventually I got two photos added; don't ask me how.

The border idea worked. One light and one dark unit make a four-patch of triangles. {Look back here to see the basic units.} Groups of four-patches formed this border.

Adding them only to the top and bottom ...

added by Ann 10 months, 3 weeks ago. under john grisham , mary robinette kowal , ocean waves , reading , scrap quilt

Books of the Week: material culture x three from With Strings Attached

This year my reading has slowed down. I've checked out stacks of books, some of which I read and many that I don't. I have many unread books in the book case. I'm going to keep trying to keep BOTW weekly.

This season I've enjoyed three books about material culture.

The Wikipedia definition: Material culture is most commonly used in archaeological and anthropological studies, to define material or artifacts as they are understood in relation to specific cultural and historic contexts, communities, and belief systems. Material culture can be described as any object that humans use ...

added by Nann 11 months, 2 weeks ago. under botw , reading

Jen Kingwell quilt update! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

OH, NO --- should I buy Murphy a special bed to keep her out of the flowers! I see them at PetSmart, and well, I don't know about her and an outdoor dog bed! It might be something, but I bet she'll be back in the leaves before I know it! I'll ask her what she thinks!

OMG --- I just checked, and you can buy FOLDING dog beds for outdoors. I better keep her away from the computer, or who knows what she will want. Maybe she wants one with a canopy?

Meanwhile, on hot days, there is ...

added by Elaine 11 months, 3 weeks ago. under backyard , lexi , long time gone , louise penny , murphy , neighborhood , reading

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