I Like Thursday #300

Look at that!  ⬆️  I Like post #300!  How many years is that?  I think I started these weekly posts in the fall of 2016, so almost six years now.  It's been fun collecting likes each week and sharing them here.  Thanks go to LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for starting the whole thing off way back then!

So, what am I liking this week?  I like that the calendar has flipped over to September!  September is one of my favorite months - it means fall is coming.  It's been very hot here - again! - so the hope for cooler weather is always there.

I'm liking this new Kathy Schmitz embroidery design that I started stitching this week.  She calls it "Summer Sun."  It's commemorating our adventures in growing sunflowers this summer!  Just one left now.

Being a retired 5th grade teacher, of course September means back to school time, and school supplies.  When I start to see them come out (in July!) I can't stay away from them!  As a teacher I always liked having the kids use spiral notebooks and composition books for different kinds of writing - we kept reading journals, writer's notebooks, science journals.  As a retiree, I still keep a reading journal in a composition notebook.

It looks like this on the inside, written in my favorite green gel pen.  (Note to self: you need a new set of gel pens!  This one's almost out.)  In another section, I keep notes for my book club discussions every month.

The most recent book I finished was this one.  So good!  I definitely recommend it.  

The main character is a woman who is a chemist in the 1950s/60s - definitely not something women were encouraged to do back then.  Lots of good characters and storylines.  Here's a link to the Goodreads blurb about the book for more info.

September means the garden is petering out.  Just two more tomatoes left on this plant, but it's sharing space with a volunteer marigold which is getting really pretty!

Hope you're having a great week with lots to like!

Check out all the other positive posts at Not Afraid of Color!

To-Do Tuesday #151

August has been a good month for finishing things up for me, and that's a good feeling. Some finishes came from last week's to-do list, so that's really good!

• Two Table Scraps projects were finished, including one that was a little last minute "Drop Everything and Make It!"  So much fun!

• A little pillow out of this cute sheep design that was a gift for my niece.  She did like it!

• And Halloween Jubilee is finished, too!  Just a peek here - it deserves its own post, which I will write up for later in the week

This week is kind of an in between week - August to-dos are done, and September is just beginning.  So what's on the list?

• Get started on light blue blocks - that is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for September.
• Finish trimming up the Frosty blocks and try harder to find a sashing fabric.  ☃️
• Give myself permission to play!  I have a couple ideas for that, so we'll see what happens...

Sharing at To-Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal - thanks, Linda for hosting this fun link-up each week!

Table Scraps for August x 2!

I've had fun this week finishing up two little projects for the August Table Scraps Challenge.  One was planned after I knew the RSC color of the month (orange) and the additional challenge from Joyful Quilter (embroidery), but the other was definitely a "Drop Everything and Make It!"

I started by looking through some finished embroidery designs that still need final finishing, and then dug through the orphan block drawer, too.  I came up with these items - Kathy Schmitz's "Flutterby" from the 2021 One Stitch at a Time Club, and some left over layer cake blocks from a quilt I made a few years ago.  To go with the butterfly colors, I chose from the peachy/salmon shades of orange.

I ended up deciding I didn't need the floral piece in upper left.

A little chopping, slicing, and stitching later, and here's what I ended up with!  This really wanted to be hand-quilted, so I enjoyed doing just that during my slow stitching time this past week.

Backing is some more Tula Pink Fairy Dust, and binding is a peachy solid I pulled out of my solid fabric bin.

This fits perfectly on the small chest by our front door!

All done!

But then there was the squirrel that showed up in my sewing room, inspired by Kathy's post last weekend, at Kathy's Quilts.  I love these little sewing machines she's been sewing up in every color of the month!  I finally decided I *had to* make one!

Pretty bright orange!

Just for fun, I finished it off into a little mini quilt!  I added some embroidery stitches to it, and bound it in a little bit of leftover rainbow dots from the backing of this quilt.  

This is the 9 inch size.

I decided this would fit right in on the wall of minis above my sewing machine table.

Linking up my small finishes with all the weekend parties:

The Joyful Quilter for the August Table Scraps Challenge 

SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday

mmmquilts for the DrEAMi link-up 

Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap and

Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching 

I Like Thursday #299

Last week's experiment with the sunflowers didn't work, and I've continued to do battle with the squirrels in my yard over the sunflowers this week.  Apparently the squirrels have won.  A few flowers have bloomed and I got excited at my triumph, only to look outside a little later and there's a @#$!%# squirrel pulling it down!  They chew the stems from the bottom, and they grab the buds from the top and cut them off, too.  I finally gave in and rescued the flowers that were still out there and put them in a vase.

At least we can enjoy them this way!

In need of a getaway day recently, we drove up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.  That is one of my very favorite things to do in the summer!  We're so lucky to only be about 30 miles away, and can take advantage of that as often as we want.  Plus, sleep in our own bed that night!

This time we decided to go into the park and drive up Trail Ridge Road.  It is the highest continuous paved road in N. America, reaching 12,183 feet in elevation at one point.  There are places to park along the way and walk to a viewpoint, so we did quite a bit of that.

At about 11,500 feet you're above tree line, and the view changes.

And, of course, it's always much cooler up there, which was a lovely break from our hot summer days!

Of course, a stop at Snowy Peaks Winery for lunch is always on the agenda for the day, as well as the local quilt shop, The Stitchin' Den.  I brought home some batik fat quarters that are specially made for the shop and the area.  They're in the "just for fun" category of fabric acquisition!

Hope you're having a great week!

I'm joining in with LeeAnna and friends at Not Afraid of Color, 

for I Like Thursday.

To-Do Tuesday #150

 Good morning and happy Tuesday!  It's To-Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal - thanks, Linda for hosting this fun link-up each week!

For the most part, I stuck to the plan and accomplished what I set out to do last week!  So what was on the list?

• Package up and send the blocks I made for Covered in Love ✅️.
• Finish up my Bloom baskets in orange ✅️. See my post here about those.
• Continue quilting on Halloween Jubilee ✅️.  Here's a peek at the back!

Getting close!

I did have a bit of a "Drop Everything and Make It" moment over the weekend, and let a small squirrel project take over.  More about that at the end of the week in my August Table Scraps post.  But that does add to this week's to-do list!

• Finish up Table Scraps project(s). 
• Keep quilting Halloween Jubilee!
• Figure out a birthday gift for my niece who is celebrating her 30th!  I asked my sister and BIL what colors she is decorating her home with, and they said it's all neutrals and she needs some color.  So I'm thinking I'll take this whimsical sheep design that I embroidered awhile back and turn it into a little pillow for her.  The red print will make a good border around the embroidery.

Those things ought to keep me busy!

The flowers of August

Late August seems to be bringing new blooms to my garden.  Usually by now, there is not a lot left - especially of the petunias which are so pretty in June and July.  

But now there are marigolds, snapdragons, sunflowers, 

larkspur, alyssum, all mixed together.

I've been stitching flowers this week, too!  I finished up the Kathy Schmitz design called "Spring Steep" and framed it with a round wooden embroidery hoop.  I was inspired to try this by Crafty Gardener's project last week, and I'm really happy with it!

I found the perfect spot to hang this, too - a little nook in the kitchen.

From embroidered flowers to fabric flowers... I found a sweet backing for the hexie flower quilt and got it all ready to quilt.

Even took a few stitches in the center block, too!

I'll be quilting on this today and for awhile!

Sharing at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching

Baskets and Blooms

My goal this week was to finish up the Bloom basket blocks in orange, and I did!  I've been making three of these each month, with the basket section in the RSC color of the month, and the blooms in whatever different colors happen to be around on my cutting table or scrap bins that I can cut a 3 inch square out of.  

Blocks in progress:

And finished:

I've made 24 of these now, and was originally shooting for 30.  But I just noticed that Cynthia's cover quilt on the Bloom module has 25 blocks, and that is the layout I want to use, so I actually just need one more!  This will be a fun scrappy quilt!

I finished all the orange hand-pieced plus blocks this last week, too.  I don't think I've actually shown all of these in awhile.  The orange ones are on top.

I only made three green blocks whenever that month was - can't remember why!

So I need three more - two in bright green and one in dark to balance everything out.  I think this quilt will be good with 49 blocks since these are rectangular: 6.5 x 8.5.

What have you been working on this week?  Looking forward to seeing over at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

I Like Thursday #298

Happy Thursday, friends!  Thanks for visiting my weekly "I Like" post.   I'm joining in with LeeAnna and friends at Not Afraid of Color, where you can find all sorts of positive posts! 

Although I don't bake very often, once in awhile I find a recipe I have to try.  I follow Jo at Jo's Country Junction, and she recently shared a recipe for Peach Muffins that looked good.  Since it's fresh peach season here, I decided to try it.  They turned out yummy!

Jo's recipe made about 18 muffins, and that's too many for us, 

so I cut it in half, and it still made 10.  They're very tasty with the peaches in them.

Jo says any fruit will work!

Those pesky squirrels that our yard is full of have been trying to chop down the tall sunflowers that are growing in our backyard.  I'm hoping to save this one - do you think it will bloom?  Stay tuned!

LeeAnna asked about favorite sandals this week, and I have to admit I'm not much of a sandal wearer.  But I do love to walk so need good shoes for that.  Daily walks around the neighborhood for exercise, walks at the nature trails with friends, hiking and birdwatching, and golf games all require good shoes.  My favorites right now are from Saucony.  I found the first pair in a local Famous Footwear, and since then have been ordering them from Amazon.  Do these shoes look lived in or what?!

I always have a pair on my feet and a brand new pair still in the box

waiting in the closet!

Mike and I took my mom up to a quilt exhibit in Ft. Collins yesterday.   It is called "New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts."  This show has been going on since 1981, and my mom actually had a quilt in the show back in the 80s when it first started.  (Sadly, she doesn't remember that, and I was busy with two little boys back then, so I don't remember the quilt or even know what happened to it!)  Back then it was more about traditional quilting and called Fabric of Legacies.  Now it is very definitely contemporary art quilts and they were fascinating to see! 

These were my favorites.  I wish I had taken a close-up of them.  The sections that look like they are made of striped fabric are actually many (many!) tiny strips sewn together, and then a lot of curved piecing.  They were amazing!

This is a juried show with prizes awarded.

Click HERE to see the Grand Prize winner.  It's amazing!

Have a great day!

 

To-Do Tuesday #149

Good morning and happy Tuesday!  It's To-Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal - thanks, Linda for hosting this fun link-up each week!

I wasn't planning to have a lot of sewing time this week, but it turns out that I got more done than I expected.  That's always a pleasant surprise!

My main goal for the week was to make progress on my orange blocks for August in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I did!  

It turns out that I also had time to get the quilt layers spray basted for Halloween Jubilee, and even some quilting started!

One other thing has been on my mind to get completed, and that is the blocks for the Covered in Love July/August block drive for Uvalde, Texas.   Time to get these in the mail!

So, my list for the coming week:

• Work on the Bloom blocks with orange baskets.  These require lots of HSTs!

• Continue quilting on Halloween Jubilee.
• Finish up my August Table Scraps project.  The top is completed, just needs quilting and binding.
• That's probably enough!  

Have a great week!

Slow stitching this week...

 It's been a few weeks since I shared the hexie flower blocks I've been making, and now they're sewn into a quilt top.  I ran a little low on the green sashing/border print, so added in some additional pink instead!  I'm working on cutting out the background behind the flowers, and have a backing picked out.  Hoping to get it all layered for hand quilting in the next couple days.

Meanwhile I've been finishing up the orange plus blocks for August.  #5 is actually done now, and just #6 to go, which will be my Sunday slow stitching for today.

And whenever there's nothing else prepped, I add a few more stitches into this little design.  Just a bit more to go now!

Sharing at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Bits and pieces of orange

Crumb Hearts was finished up last weekend, a Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt that I started in 2021 with lots of little bitty scraps.  

A few more details can be found in my Tuesday post, here.

That freed up my sewing time for working on this year's RSC blocks in this month's color, orange.  I started with a couple of chandelier blocks.  These were started last year, too, and I've been adding two more each month for a total of four in each color.  I'm not sure I shared last month's purple chandelier blocks, so they're also in the photo.

I think I've made all the blocks I'm going to make for this quilt, and it's time to work on layout ideas.  In this picture, the blocks are in columns by color, but I definitely plan to mix them up in the final layout.  I'm using a photo from Pinterest for inspiration, and it leads to this post at Mary Quilts.  I just noticed she has 32 blocks in her quilt,  so maybe I need two more.

I also made the two orange blocks for Masala Box this week.  One is in bright, popsicle, orange, and the other is in darker, pumpkin oranges.  

And here they all are on the design wall - sixteen so far.   Although Preeti's pattern calls for 25 blocks, twenty blocks will make a 48 x 60 throw quilt, so that may be where I'll end up stopping.  I love these blocks and the look of the quilt already!

Little bits of progress are really starting to add up!

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and at 

Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!