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 11 months 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 11 months, 1 week 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 12 months 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 1 year ago. under backyard , lexi , long time gone , louise penny , murphy , neighborhood , reading

On the Shelf from Fret Not Yourself

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.

~Annie Dillard

Quilting

This year DH and I are spending our days in home repairs. Last year was kitchen organization. The results are relaxing as I can quickly put my hands on tools. A few more things may be recycled there. Our church sets up apartments for formerly homeless people. When they are ready to transition to their own housing, they take all the furnishings. We are constantly on the lookout for good used items and purchase other things.

This year the roof started the ball rolling ...

added by Ann 1 year ago. under michael frank , ocean waves , reading , scrap quilt

Love Two from Fret Not Yourself

The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change, until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.

~R. D. Laing

Quilting

The mockup should have helped... and it did in a way. The print/solid combinations are not what I might have chosen otherwise. But the final version is still a surprise. That L looks quite bold. White may be a mistake but I pushed on quilting it instead of ...

added by Ann 1 year ago. under adding words to quilts , bruce henderson , chinese coins , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt

Reprising LOVE from Fret Not Yourself

What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?

~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Quilting

Sewing a back for the Optical Illusion was the alleged task but all these scraps are scattered around my sewing area. Although I started to simply push them into the scrap bag, they insisted I pull out more material for a front instead.

I said I wouldn't repeat any words but Love is the greatest thing of all... and I wanted to make one with a different V. I'm truly running out of fabric (hooray!) but there are these two shot cottons that have been ...

added by Ann 1 year, 1 month ago. under adding words to quilts , chinese coins , reading , scrap quilt , stacy schiff , string quilt

Optical Illusion 2 Top from Fret Not Yourself

Obsession is a substitute for talent.

~Steven Martin

Quilting

Perhaps my repetition of specific ideas is a form of obsession but I prefer to consider it working all the angles.

The result is better than expected - despite using only scraps. The design pulls the white center into a slightly curved shape and the subsequent rows and sashing enhance the effect. The blue corner has the best value progression. The corals (lower right) jump a bit more than ideal but I love the colors. As stated, I used fabric on hand, mostly from the scrap bin although some was pulled from ...

added by Ann 1 year, 1 month ago. under firoozeh dumas , optical illusion , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt

A Second Optical Illusion Quilt from Fret Not Yourself

Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.

~Jules Verne

Quilting

Happy Pi Day! Every year more and more people notice this mathematical celebration for 3.14. (It's easier to remember using the American date notation.. which I've always thought awkward. Most everyone else orders from smallest to largest units day/month/year.) That aside, this day is the perfect excuse to look for circles. Here I go again.

Since finishing the first Optical Illusion quilt I've been wanting to try it again with lighter fabrics. What if I switched values using lights for the ...

added by Ann 1 year, 1 month ago. under emma straus , optical illusion , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt

Woo Pig Sooie Quilt from Fret Not Yourself

Life is about that little space between what's over and what's next.

~Norman Lear

Quilting

Like Audrey and several other people, I caught a heck of a cold and have been mostly out of commission for several weeks. Occasionally I manage some quilting time but quickly head back to bed. This silly illness wiped me out. I'm even eating canned soup!

However, my older son's lap quilt is finally a wrap. Red and white are one of my favorite combinations. {I need to make one of my own even though these aren't my college colors ...

added by Ann 1 year, 2 months ago. under adding words to quilts , arkansas quilt , merlin sheldrake , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt

BOTW: what a family! from With Strings Attached

Marie Benedict's latest novel again tells the story of women whose names we may know but whose lives we don't know much about.

Aristocratic, glamorous, on the verge of going broke -- the Mitford family could have been dreamed up by a satirical novelist except that they were very real. (And, actually, eldest daughter Nancy did thinly-disguise her siblings in two of her novels.) Diana, the third daughter, divorced her husband (heir to Guinness brewing) to marry Oswald Mosely, head of the British Union of Fascists. Unity, the third daughter, was enamored by Adolf Hitler and became part of ...

added by Nann 1 year, 2 months ago. under books of the week , botw , reading

Going in Circles Slowly from Fret Not Yourself

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the sky and he'll believe you.

Tell him that a bench has wet paint on it and he has to touch it to be sure.

~unknown

Quilting

The plan was to have the quilting finished by now but instead caught a cold and spent a few days in bed. So I'm still circling. A large lap quilt instead of a baby quilt takes more time, too. The spiraling circle is complete; I'm filling in the four corners now. Progress.

Clear cherry reds may be my favorite color. Too ...

added by Ann 1 year, 3 months ago. under adding words to quilts , arkansas quilt , rachel may , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt

BOTW: two graphic novels from With Strings Attached

Graphic novels are not a format that greatly appeals to me. That's a personal preference. I know they are very diverse, from traditional comic books to Japanese manga to original works of fiction and nonfiction, with titles appropriate for (and to appeal to) kids, teens, and adults. They're all represented in my public library's collection. (Said library being my former place of work.)

One of the reading prompts for The Page Turner 2023 is "a graphic novel." I welcomed the opportunity to expand my reading horizons and chose Art Spiegelman's Maus (v. 1 and v. 2 ...

added by Nann 1 year, 3 months ago. under books of the week , botw , reading

BOTW: palace intrigue from With Strings Attached

In 2016 a not-well-liked housekeeper at Buckingham Palace is found dead at the edge of the indoor swimming pool. The news makes its way to the Queen. She is 90 and slowing down somewhat physically but not mentally. She encourages an investigation that involves her Assistant Personal Secretary Rozie Ochoda. The plot thickens when they learn that the dead woman began her career as an art historian inventorying the Palace art collection. Why was she demoted? The investigation is literally winding when Rozie goes down to the tunnels that connect the palace buildings. The queen floats above it all, her ...

added by Nann 1 year, 3 months ago. under books of the week , botw , reading

A PRODUCTIVE day from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

I hate when I wake up and realize the answer to a problem, and it's too late to fix it! I was doing machine embroidery last night and couldn't get the third hooping to match up. It was close but not exact, but I went ahead anyway. This morning, I'm pretty sure I know what happened. I do not have any way to verify that, but it irks me that I didn't think of it last night.

The good news is that if I didn't tell you there was an issue, you'll never know ...

added by Elaine 1 year, 3 months ago. under a needle pulling thread , boho heart , cell phone , customer quilt , habits , machine embroidery , reading , virtual challenge

A College Quilt from Fret Not Yourself

"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something.

That is the only thing that never fails."

~The Once and Future King

Quilting

So far DS1 hasn't said much about wanting a quilt jacket, too. Just a few comments I'm not taking that seriously. But he admired the Arkansas quilts I'd made for his friends' babies. Recently I realized a 3x3 grid {instead of 2x2} would make the quilt almost lap size. Besides being my favorite colors, red and white are both Valentine and Arkansas colors. Sending him a ...

added by Ann 1 year, 3 months ago. under adding words to quilts , arkansas quilt , reading , scrap quilt , string quilt , tiya alicia miles

BOTW: all that glitters from With Strings Attached

In the early 20th century the Franco-American Pelletier family arrived in Colorado to join their father/husband at the Moonstone marble quarry. Daughter Sylvie tells the story of the terrible conditions for the quarrymens' families -- unheated, unplumbed shacks, far from town. When she finishes school she gets a job as a reporter for the scrappy labor-friendly local newspaper. The next summer she is hired as the secretary for the quarry-owner's (third) wife. Sylvie sees first-hand the profligate luxury of the robber barons and is determined to work for justice for the working class. Her life is complicated by the ...

added by Nann 1 year, 3 months ago. under books of the week , botw , reading

What's your reading style? from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

OK --- no idea what the phone problem is yet. A couple more clues to track down, but yesterday I was standing in the middle of my backyard and still having difficulties! I'm away next week, and it'll be interesting to see if I still have issues. Could it be this house? I'll keep you up to date!

While I accomplished paperwork yesterday morning, it was under duress. Why? Something happened (and not with the phone), and it wasn't anything devastating, but it was extremely annoying, putting me in a foul mood. After an hour, I chatted ...

added by Elaine 1 year, 3 months ago. under lexi , reading , virtual challenge

BOTW: saints and troublemakers from With Strings Attached

BOTW = Books of the Week -- what I've been reading lately.

"I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true....one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green....and I mean to be one, too," goes the Sunday school hymn

Daneen Akers tells the stories of 37 of these saints in short biographies. Some are well-known (Florence Nightingale, Harriet Tubman, Francis of Assisi, Mr. Rogers). Some are lesser-known (suffragist Alice Paul, preacher Anne Hutchinson, civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, poet Mary Oliver). Others were new to ...

added by Nann 1 year, 3 months ago. under books of the week , botw , reading

The Quilted Coat Finish from Fret Not Yourself

Photo heavy post.

Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.

~J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Quilted Coat

All that angst. Years of worry and insecurity for nothing. This was a piece of cake. As Barrie wrote, it wasn't work at all because there was nothing I'd rather have done.

Quilted coat, front view

Here's the side view. DS wanted the sleeves to turn up like this. He says it will keep his hands warm when he walks the dog. I say, that's what gloves are for. Still, his choice.

Quilted coat ...

added by Ann 1 year, 3 months ago. under kevin hazzard , quilted coat , quilted jacket , reading

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