I Like Thursday #399

It's August!  Hard to believe it's here already - but I think I say that every month.  I know it's August because my marigolds are blooming.  In fact, they are taking over this pot that was originally full of purple and white petunias.  I'm going to let them bloom, though, because I love marigolds!

A pumpkin is growing, too!  I think he's looking pretty good.

It's time for school supplies, and my friend, Sue, and I participated in the yearly backpack stuffing event that's run by the Thompson Education Foundation that supports our local school district.  I love this event!

I even made it onto the front page of the newspaper, lol!  (Just accidentally, I think!)

We went and got some breakfast burritos the other day - two were "hot" for the menfolk, and mine was "mild."  Mine got a special little notation on the wrapper!  Definitely made me smile!

Are you watching the Olympics?  My favorite Olympic sport is women's gymnastics.  I have only watched bits and pieces of it, but saw Simone Biles nail a vault the other day.  She's amazing!  

Image Source

To update you on the wildfire near us: not a lot of new news about it.  It has continued to expand, mostly to the north, I believe, and not toward the city.   The worst news is that three more fires have started in Colorado since yesterday.  I'm not sure what has started them - we haven't had storms with lightning, but it is really hot and dry.

And Mike's cataract surgery went just fine today - just like expected.  He's ready to get the second eye done next Wednesday and be done with all this!

Joining in with I Like Thursday at Not Afraid of Color.

Midweek Update

First an update on the Alexander Mountain fire that is burning to the west of us here in Loveland, Colorado, up in the Big Thompson Canyon.  I took this first picture about noon on Monday, about an hour or so after it was first spotted.

Younger son went out about 2:00 and got this photo (zooming in) of one of the big firefighting planes dropping the red slurry on it.

You can see how much the fire grew in just a few hours.

Later Monday night we went out to see what you could see on the south side of Lake Loveland, and got this photo as the sun was about to set.

As of 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, it's being reported that the fire has spread to 3500 acres and is 0% contained.  We are fine, just affected by the smoky air, but we do have friends who live in the mandatory evacuation area, one family with livestock that has to be moved.  Unfortunately it is super hot and dry here, with no precipitation in sight, so it's going to take awhile to see any progress on this fire.

On the sewing front - I made a goal for myself to piece a backing for the zipper quilt top, and I achieved it.  I had a 30 x 72 piece of the blue floral that is the backing for Paducah Stars, and since it's used for a block in the top, I decided to start with that.

To make it wide enough, I added four fat quarters from a bundle I received in a giveaway from Preeti a year or so back.  Several blocks in the top are made from fabrics out of this bundle, like the one below.

Just a few seams later, and voila!  I have a backing!  It definitely needs more pressing, but then it's ready for sandwiching the layers, and I'm hoping to do that in August.  For now, it's going in the to-be-quilted closet until the temperature cools off around here, and working with big pieces of fabric is more comfortable!

Along the way, I've continued to make the County Clare leader/ender blocks bit by bit.  I'm up to five completed blocks and parts for another.

Today, Mike has his first cataract surgery tomorrow, so it will be a different kind of day.  Hopefully some sewing will be included in it!

Linking up with Quiltfabrication for Midweek Makers.

 

 

Two small finishes and a new start!

This week I finished up the Watermelon Stamp, which is full of my favorite summer things: watermelon, sunflowers, birds, and buzzing bees.

And - the mini flag sampler, which has joined the collection in my big basket of samplers!

And then I read Melisa's Thursday post.  Did you know that it was National "Thread the Needle" day?   Well, me neither, but I didn't mind having another reason to do some stitching!  When Melisa shared her cute design for a tiny sewing basket full of goodies, I decided I needed to start it.  This is the beginnings of Sew Day Basket, found at the link above.

Do you have a tomato pincushion?  I do!

I'll have to include it in the photo when I finish this little design!

Sharing at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Wonky Wings - a table scraps project

July has definitely been the month for seeing Tiger Swallowtail butterflies in our yard! 

So it is completely appropriate that Joy challenged us to use butterflies in our July Table Scraps project.  I spent some time early in the month googling "butterfly quilt blocks" and there are tons out there.   Looking for a fairly simple block that was on the small side, I was inspired to check out Nancy's butterfly quilt block that she's using for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.   It is a Robert Kaufman free quilt design called Hope Takes Flight, and is made using two 5 inch squares - or leftover charm squares if you have them.

This has an interesting construction method, and I always enjoy trying something new,

but I did struggle to get the wings to be symmetrical, which you can probably see in my photo.  Hence the name "Wonky Wings!"

Fortunately, I was making something small, so I just made four butterflies, and didn't worry too much about the wonkiness.  I used some charm squares, and one scrap of an aqua batik  that I've been working with this month, plus leftover binding strips in aqua that came from some other project, and voila!

About 16 x 11

The back shows the simple quilting I did - the orangy-pink is a leftover from my Paducah Stars quilt.

This fits the little chest in the front entry perfectly!  It was ready for a new topper.

Linking up with the July Table Scraps Challenge at the Joyful Quilter,

and at Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday.

At SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday

Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap! 

Melva Loves Scraps for Sew and Tell Monday.

  

I Like Thursday #398

Good morning?  How's your week going?  It seems like life has been busy around here, but can I tell you what we've been doing? 🤷  

I did make a batch of refrigerator dill pickles out of some of my cucumbers - recipe here.

Yum!

I received this cute card in the mail from Sally - thank you, Sally!

And enjoyed playing in my aqua scraps to try out a Double Friendship Star.  Just auditioning it, I guess, for a possible new Rainbow Scrap Challenge project.  I like this star, but it's a little bit under-sized.  I think the directions (from Quilter's Cache) call for a scant quarter inch seam, and I find that concept a little challenging!

My brother and SIL have been visiting this week, and it has been great to spend time with them!  Silly me, I did not take a single photo to share!  They currently live in San Luis Obispo, California, but my brother is ready to retire, so they are on an epic road trip, checking out possible locations to retire in so that they can be closer to family out here.

And that brings me to LeeAnna's question of the week - do you like road trips in the summer?  We do like road trips, and have done many over the years.  But the one that always comes to mind is one we took in 1993, when our boys were 13 and 10 - all the way to Washington, DC.  We planned out stops about every half-day along the way that took us to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, we put our toes in the Mississippi River, visited the Corvette factory in Kentucky, and spent several days in DC.  It was quite the trip!  This picture frame is still on display in our living room.

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Joining in with I Like Thursday at Not Afraid of Color.

Midweek Update

The other day, Melva released the next block for her Pieces of My Life QAL, and it is a spool block.  So appropriate because our memory prompt is about our wedding dresses!  I really enjoyed making this block - it's a spool block version that I haven't made before.  

My mom made my dress, as well as my sisters' dresses - she probably even made her own dress for the wedding.  Back then, my mom could (and did) sew just about anything!  I wanted something very simple - there are no sparkly things on my dress, no train, it's very simple.  I loved it then and still do.  

I love this picture because of the look on her face!  

Also, notice her wrist pincushion - such a classic tool for seamstresses.

My sisters' dresses were a very 70s color - what would you call it?  Dusty Rose, maybe?

While I don't know what my sisters have done with their dresses from my wedding, 

mine is still hanging in my closet!  I've never been sure what to do with it, although I flirted with the idea of using a piece of it in this quilt block. 

But in the end, I just couldn't cut into it!

I have also gotten quite a bit of quilting done on the first section of this quilt, and I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.  I find myself thinking I will do one type of design in a section, and ending up doing something completely different.  Hopefully, in the end, it will all mesh together!

Sharing at Quiltfabrication for Midweek Makers and 

Melva Loves Scraps for the spool block linkup.

Slow stitching this week...

I stitched like crazy all week long, and finished up the mini flag sampler!  I think the flag was done by Tuesday evening, and all the letters by Friday.   This was an enjoyable project (once I got through those long red and white stripes on the flag)!

On this week's To Do list will be to fully finish this 

so that I can add it to my basket of little samplers.

Now I have some empty hoops - what to put in them so I have things to stitch on during my evening slow stitching time?  For one, I decided to prep the July heart from Melisa's Year of Hearts series.  Since we're getting towards the end of July, I want to get it done!

All set to get started!

I bet you can guess what I'll be working on for my Slow Sunday Stitching!

Linking up with Kathy's Quilts.

A quilt top!

The zipper blocks zipped themselves right into a quilt top this week!  There's something about sewing blocks into a top that often helps me like the whole project better, and that happened with these.  

It's always fun to look at all the blocks you've made as you're stitching the rows together.  I decided this section is my favorite - turquoise, purple, yellow, goldfinches, sand and seashells.  Anything goes in these blocks!

Next up is to make a backing for the quilt and get it ready to quilt.

I'm really going to try not to leave it in the to-be-quilted closet for too long!

Maybe it will be an August finishing project.

Also this week, I hand-pieced one more hollow 9 patch.  I've been making two of these each month. 

There are 14 of these blocks now.  I think it just needs orange and then I'm going to sew the blocks together - this will be doll quilt sized.  I've hand-pieced several quilts over the last five years or so, all different sizes.  I can feel myself losing a little interest in hand-piecing, so it's just time to finish this project up!

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday!

And at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap! 

Melva Loves Scraps for Sew and Tell Monday.

I Like Thursday #397

So, apparently, I can grow cucumbers!

And the cherry tomatoes are coming along, too.   Yum to both of these! ⬆️⬇️

We also tried a little baking experiment this week, and these were pretty tasty.  Have you ever watched one of those little quick videos on Facebook where the person is making something, and you think, "I could do that!"  So - I tried these - Easy Baked Pancake Muffins.

You can't see this, but I put chocolate chips in mine.

They're quick to make, pretty simple, and tasted good, too!

Here's something I'm proud of - I organized my embroidery floss stash!  No "before" pictures - it was too embarrassing.  All kinds of ziploc bags full of this and that.  Isn't this pretty now?!

LeeAnna's question of the week is about outdoor performances - have we gone, do we like them?  And my answer is yes!  Here in Colorado there are many opportunities for outdoor concerts and performances, but the most wonderful place is Red Rocks Amphitheater, located in the foothills west of Denver.  It's a beautiful spot for a concert!

Image Source

I think, over the years, we've been to at least 4 concerts there that we could think back to: Michael Martin Murphey, Chuck Mangione, (those were in the 70s), and then more recently James Taylor, and (probably my favorite) Idina Menzel.  Think - the voice of Elsa in Frozen singing "Let it Go!"  She was so good!  I went to that one with my teaching friends, Betty - her son had given her the tickets for her birthday and I got to go, too.

Good memories!

Hope you're having a great week!

Joining in with I Like Thursday at Not Afraid of Color.

 

Midweek Update

I was determined to get going on the first Quilt As You Go step for my Pieces of My Life project this week.  I collected all the supplies - sashing fabric, backing, and Hobbs 80/20 fusible batting.  Melva wrote that she preferred the look of scrappy sashing strips, chosen from her stash, but I didn't have anything that would be the right size to get the length of strips that are called for.  So I bought a Grunge fabric called "Sea," and am hoping it will work.  Credit goes to Missouri Star for a great sale on two yard cuts for the backing (the floral wreaths - I bought two packages) and Connecting Threads for a batting sale, and I was all set!

Next up was to cut and sew the sashing pieces and get the first quarter of the quilt top together.  Thank you, Melva, for very clear directions on how to do that!  

Block 1 - Bow,  Block 2 - Friendship Stars

Block 4 - Hours, Block 3 - Bachelor's Puzzle 

I wasn't really happy with the look of that center section where the four large blocks come together because it looks a little too chunky, if you know what I mean! 

So I did a little reverse engineering and added some of the floral focus fabric as "cornerstones."  I actually like this much better.

This section measures 28.5 x 30.5.  

There will be four sections this same size that make the quilt top.

There will also be an outer border all the way around.

Okay - ready to baste the layers together.   I've used Hobbs 80/20 in my quilts for years and really like it, but never the fusible type.  Thankfully, Melva included a great video from Pauline's Quilting World that shows just what to do, and it works great!  (So far, anyway!)  This could be a game changer for me - basting the quilt layers is never my favorite job, but this made it very easy.

And I'm off on the quilting journey!  Starting off simply with some stitch-in-the-ditch, but hoping to branch out into some different designs in the blocks.  

Linking up with Quiltfabrication for Midweek Makers.

And Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday.

 

Sunday Slow Stitching

We had a beautiful visitor yesterday!  Husband and younger son grabbed their cameras and got some photos.  

We're pretty sure this is a Tiger Swallowtail.

It fits, then, that I finished up the stitching on this heart with its sweet watering can and pretty red flowers.

I also hand-pieced the aqua hollow 9, and got pieces cut for a second one.

Today, and for the next few days, I'll be working on the mini flag sampler.  The flag is taking me awhile, but will be worth it when finished! 

Sharing at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching!