End of March

End of March... on April Fool's Day? That seems about right for how things have been going around here. 😀

I don't have much good to report about fabric use in March. I experienced a necessary influx of yardage to work on my paint chip challenge. 

All 10½ yards that came in was Painter's Palette purchased from Keepsake Quilting.

This is the 60" X 72" paint chip challenge quilt top thus far which account for 3⅓ of the yards used. I've been adding black and white striped bias tape, in three different widths. I know the top looks like nothing, but I have another step planned. I intend to slash the quilt top in several places, then reposition and resew. Yikes! I'm uncertain about what that will look like, but I know it can't remain as-is. I plan to print the photo and cut up the paper version before actually cutting the quilt top. 

I also counted as Out Yardage the Cielo top I made (see last post) using the ice cream cone print. Here's how I figured it... I bought that 1½ yards in February and counted it in February as In Yardage. Then, in March, I made the top, but calcuated it as 1⅓ yards of Out Yardage. That's because some of the odd-shaped leftover bits are now among my print scraps. Seems right, don't you think? 

The remaining small amount of fabric used was as lining and pockets for a Sunshine Crossbody Pouch. (I don't count selvedges as yardage used.) This bag - my second time making the pattern - turned out so much better than the first. I'm sure it's because I relocated D-rings to the top of the bag (rather than in the side seams), and along with SF 101 I used a foam stabilizier in each side. 

The orange pocket at the top, with a vinyl window, is for my rec center ID card. 

I also added a slip pocket to the interior. My FlourishingPalms label is on the left.

This is the best-sized purse for me to carry. 

To restore my fabric stash to its February level, I need to do a lot of sewing to use-up the almost extra 5½ yards I bought.  (Sigh.)

Book Recommendations

Due to end-of-February busy-ness with QuiltCon and teaching in Boca Raton, I never shared six February audiobooks. Scores are out of a possible 5.0.

Just a few reviews...

Ground Zero by Alan Gratz is wonderful book if you're in the mood to relive September 11, 2001. It's a rough listen, but very well-done. From the perspective of a 9 year-old boy who's in the World Trade Center with his dad, a restaurant chef, it's an excellent portrayal of what happened that day. Alongside the boy's experience is the story of an 11 year-old girl in present day terrorist-filled, war-torn Afghanistan. The book gives a thought-provoking look into cirsumstances strikingly similar for each of these young people. 

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon is a must-read for anyone who thinks they're not creative. This short 37-page book (I read as an ebook) is packed with encouraging truths for all of us who have ever thought "I don't have an original idea in my body." Wrong! This is a book to read for a creative lift, and again and again when you're feeling at all discouraged about your creativity.

I'm happy to say that when I recommended the book to quiltmaking friends, it was add to our Central Florida MQG library.  

Here are seven March listens. 

If it Rains by Jennifer L. Wright takes place in Oklahoma during the 1935 dust bowl. A smart-mouthed teen, Kathryn (living with a club foot) comes of age in poverty and desperation. Her older sister, Melissa marries; her dad and stepmother decide to sell the family farm and move. The last thing Kathryn wants to do is leave. Using a dual narrative method (alternating between two characters) the author guides readers through Kathryn's story and Melissa's experiences as a new wife with money and an abusive husband. It's a well-told story of how it must have felt to live during such a difficult time. 

The Knapdale Murders by Daniel Sellers is a who-done-it story that takes place on the western edge of Scotland, along the seashore. There's a small village, lots of locals who know one another, and a female detective investigator recently arrived from Glasgow, trying to prove herself. The town's busybody - an annoying troublemaker - has been found dead, run over by a tractor. It's up to DI Anna Vaughn and the local detective constable to find the killer.

I thought this was a very entertaining book. The narrator has a wonderful, thick Scottish accent. I'll caution you too. If you need TV subtitles to watch British TV, you might wish for audiobook "subtitles" to listen to this one!  

I hope this book is the start of a series. 

Fredrik Backman has done it again - in a good way - with My Friends, a story about an 18 year-old teen who's recently left a group home and is trying to find her way with nothing and no one. In an alternating timeline - 25 years earlier - are four adolescents growing up in difficult circumstances. What ties the teen and adolescents is a famous painting, the story behind how it came to be, and its current value to the world and one individual to whom it was gifted. 

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick is a fantasy story about Greta Perks (love the play with the name) who, with her husband and young daughter, once featured in Maple Gold Coffee TV commercials. With her celebrity fading, Greta is now separated from her husband and struggling to understand her teenaged daughter. Feeling lost, Greta finds an obscure coffee shop, where the proprietress creates a special brew for Greta who gets her wish to visit and live in the Maple Gold town. Ultimately, she must decide whether to remain there, or return to face the present.

I thoroughly enjoyed this imaginary coffee experience, and the whole book had me craving a good cuppa!

A Force of Nature by Jane Harper, is another great book by this Australia author. If you haven't yet read a Jane Harper book, you must! But then, I do love to hear an Aussie accent.

This story takes place in the fictional Giralang Ranges when two corporate groups - five men and five women - are sent out on a team-building bush trek. The men return within the designated time frame. Six hours later only four women return. Where's Alice? Federal Police Investigator Aaron Falk and his partner are sent from Melbourne to the Giralang to interview the returned, injured and bedraggled women and men, and help searchers find out what has become of Alice. 

I hope I've given you info about a few titles that might interest you.

Until my next post, I'll be here, trying to use-up more fabric and listening to more audiobooks. Linda

Moody Making

Having seemed to misplace sew-jo, I thought that perhaps a couple small projects would get me going again... at least get me to sit at my sewing machine. So, using several QuiltCon purchases, I've been making myself sew. 

Last Sunday I made another (my fourth) Cielo top using this ice cream cone print bought from a QC vendor. Having worked out the size that fits me best, it's probably time to use a different pattern. Ha! But there's also satisfaction in knowing something's gonna fit and sew-up in an afternoon.

I'll be ready for opening day of Twistee Treat (ice cream stand) whenever that may be. Since I'm not seeing much exterior building progress, I'm hoping things are happening inside the stand.

Using fabric and cork also purchased at QC, I'm making my second Sunshine Crossbody Pouch, a free pattern from @bagstockdesigns. The bag size is perfect for what I need to carry.

However, I learned a couple things since making the first bag. Primarily: I do not like patterns that position D-rings within a side seam. What happens is that when the bag is carried, those rings pull upward on the sides making the bag bow in the middle. To rectify that, I'm positioning a D-ring at the top left end of the front, and the back.

Also, it's proven convenient to add a clear vinyl exterior pocket/window to hold the ID card I show each time I attend a recreation center activity. I've observed that if the attendant scanning my card is a woman, she'll often comment about it being handy, or a good idea. Men never comment.

😀

Beige cork is from Sally Tomato. 

I pieced orange selvedges to make the bag's sides, and on one side used "Quilt Tattoo" Ransom Letters, from Salty Hippo Studio, to make text that's a bible verse from Psalms - Let All That I Am Praise The LORD.

As for my paint chip challenge/bias tape project, that was going nowhere. I was feeling very discouraged about it until my good friend Karen (a talented quilt maker) gave me some positive encouragement (much needed!) and a couple suggestions. Determined to move forward, I auditioned her suggestions that prompted one of those "light bulb moments."

💡

Even though I like the fuchsia-colored bias tape (see previous blog post), this black and white stripe is much more "me."

I'm making tape in three different widths and gluing them into place to later edge-sew. I also plan to audition appliqué circles in strategic locations. Thanks to Karen, I finally feel like I'm making progress!

I also completed round loom knitting the first half of a poncho. 

The yarn-fabric is super-soft and stretchy, with a pretty seed stitch pattern. Here's the free pattern by Loomahat: Seed Stitch Poncho. 

I've picked up some new-to-me dish cloth patterns from a friend who had an old Leisure Arts booklet, Nifty Knit Dishcloths. Thanks Selena!

The Simple Weave dishcloth on the left is from the book. The dishcloth on the right is a freebie: Waffle Knit Dishcloth. 

I guess I'll just keep working on whatever suits my mood. Linda

Just a Little Making

It's been an argument with myself to get to the sewing machine, but there's nothing like a challenge to push that.

For the second year in a row, Big Cypress Quilters have given members a paint chip challenge.

Blindly we picked two paint chips. We're to use the paint chip colors (prints or solids) to make something. It doesn't have to be a quilt. It could be an apron, table runner, tote bag, or whatever.

We can add one color, and/or a neutral like white. The project is due May 5.

I selected several colors of Painter's Palette solids, my favorite brand of solids because of the nice, medium hand, and colors that never run when washed. Some colors were already in my stash; some I hoped to buy at QuiltCon. When that proved fruitless, I ordered several PP colors from Keepsake Quilting.

After auditioning different contrasting colors including eggplant and orange, I decided I liked fuchsia best.

Colors I've used to piece the background are:

• Irish Spring (light green)
• Lime Mist (dark green)
• Sky (light blue)
• Cracked Ice (medium blue)
• Daydream (dark blue)

Arbitrarly, I thought to piece Drunkard's Path blocks using 12½" templates cut from freezer paper. 

T

Thirty blocks later, I was shuffling to get a nice balance of darks, mediums and lights.

The background is 60" X 72".

Using fuchsia solid, I've made yards of ⅝"-wide bias tape. Yes, I have several sizes of bias tape makers, but this method allows me to make tape that's exactly the size I want.

Now I'm challenging myself to create a tape design. I'm struggling, but will keep playing with this. 

When I don't want to think quite as hard, or I'm ready to kick back with an audiobook in our new Florida room, I've begun a round loom knitting piece that's for me. Yarn is "Premier Flora" #5 chunky, color River, from Herrschners.

I'm knitting a Seed Stitch Poncho, designed by Denise of loomahat.com, hoping that: 

1) One day I will fit back into blue jeans to wear with the poncho; and

2) the yarn doesn't stretch too much, from a medium size to a large! Fibers are acrylic, bamboo, and nylon blend, making the yarn super-soft and somewhat stretchy. I don't know how it will turn out, but I'm enjoying making it.

Of course, it's getting warmer here (81F today), so even when it's finished, I won't be wearing it until 2027! Linda

Finished Rug and Tiny Dolls

For several weeks after QuiltCon, I didn't do much except focus on finishing my braided rag rug, and in the evenings, round loom knitting.  

I'm delighted to share that Sunday afternoon I completed the rug. Measuring 57" X 69" and made entirely from recycled clothing, home dec fabrics, bed sheets, and leftover fabrics from garment-making (my clothes), it's now on our enclosed lanai/Florida room floor.

How did I know I was finished? I completely used-up the last two men's XXL t-shirts ($1 each from a thrift store) that were lime green and yellow. It happens that I also finished using a cotton blend plaid sport shirts from my Dad, the last of aqua-colored four-way stretch knit that was leftover from making leggings for myself, and one of my stained blue knit tops. I like working with t-shirt knits best because there's little fraying. 

Mary, ZippyQuilts asked how heavy this rug is... so I weighed it when I finished. TEN POUNDS!

I enjoyed this "photo-finish" with only these sheet strips left over. 

Don't forget that if you'd like to learn how to make a Braided Rag Rug, Ilka White (who I learned from in 2020) is offering a virtual workshop on April 18 and 19 (USA dates). Go here to learn more.

Some of my blog-readers have already registered! 😀

As for round loom knitting, my focus has been on making Tiny Dolls. They're just so darned cute that whenever I'd think about donating them, my soft spot arose and I wanted to keep them! But I made myself a promise - when I'd made a dozen, I'd donate them.

So here they are... one last photo before I give them away. My basketful of tiny babies.

There's one Teddy Bear too. Had to try making a teddy, and learned that it has more parts than a Tiny Doll. I doubt I'll be making more.

I've gotten pretty good at making Tiny Dolls on a 24-peg loom following these instructions on YouTube which I've written on index cards. I've learned which yarns work best, which yarns need to be doubled, and I've memorize the steps. I can make a Tiny Doll in three hours or less, so it's a good in-front-of-the-TV activity. (Keeps me from falling asleep too!) I recently bought some leftover yarns at our local annual Quilter's Notions Sale, so I have some more happy colors to continue making them.

If you make any stuffies, I highly recommend using Cluster Stuff by Morning Glory, for stuffing. It's sort of piece-y, and fills nicely into smaller areas. I buy mine at Hobby Lobby. 

After well over a month, now I've returned to my sewing machine to begin my next Paint Chip Challenge with Big Cypress Quilters. Linda

From Lanai to Florida Room

We moved into our home in June, 2012. It took nearly six months to buy new furnishings, and really settle-in. On December 14, 2012, I blogged about what we'd done and the progress we'd made. One of the pictures shows making our 10' X 26' screened-in lanai a comfortable outdoor space with outdoor furniture. 

We had the concrete lanai floor painted to "match" 18" tiles on the inside of the house. 

Fast forward to 2025. We recognized that we weren't using the outdoor space for two big reasons:

1. it was too hot - more hot days than comfortable days, even though the lanai is on the east side of the house; and
2. it was always dirty. Mowing lawn turned up dust. Wiping off the table top always made the cloth yellow with pollen. I'd clean the furniture, scrub the floor, and a week later it was dirty again.

Last fall we decided to enclose the space to make it liveable year 'round. Beginning on September 11 the first of three contractors came to give us estimates on the cost and time frame. We went with the third contractor. A crew came October 24, 2025 to remove the black-colored screens and black framework. 

It was replaced with more sturdy white (our choice) framework. 

Then measurements were taken within the new framework for double-paned windows. Since a 2012 county code change, the new windows had to be more hurricane-proof with a higher insulating factor.  

After the framework was installed October 24, we waited until December 15 for windows. 

In the interim, insulation was blown into the crawl space above the lanai, and a young man spent an entire day sanding the paint off the lanai floor in anticipation of putting down tile. Let me just say that I'm really glad the windows were not yet in when the paint and concrete dust was flying! Hubs washed down the lanai walls and floor after the floor paint was removed. 

On December 16, windows were installed. 

Most of the windows (large ones over short ones) are stationary. On the left side, the swinging screen door was replaced with a sliding door with a screen. 

Also, at the end of the room, the upper window slides either direction with a screen. Check out the drooping fan! That's what happens to an outdoor fan that's been exposed to 12 years of Florida humidity.

Disappointingly, two lower window frames arrived damaged, so though they were put into place, they weren't permanent.

At least, with the room enclosed, we could move forward with having tile put down. I won't go into detail about the decision-making process choosing tile but it involved a lot of discussion! We chose 12" X 24" porcelain tiles. 

Laying down tiles happened December 23, so perhaps it's no accident that tile spacers were all green and red. 

The team returned the next day to spread grout. 

While we waited for replacement windows, on January 19 the drooping ceiling fan was replaced.

The new fan has a bigger motor, a changeable down light, reversible blades (the palm side is out now), and a remote control. 

After getting estimates from three different painters, on January 21 the interior walls were painted, and the exterior stucco was patched (damaged when black framework was removed) and repainted with the exterior color.

Previously the now-interior color was the same color as the house exterior. Now those walls are Sherwin-Williams "Welcome White."

Above the sliding glass door. 

 

As I "just knew" would happen, the two replacement windows arrived February 19 while I was at QuiltCon. But yippee!

After the replacement windows were installed, a county building inspector came to approve the installation, checking that all the framework window screws were in place. Then followed another visit from the window guys who put caps over all those screws.

On February 24, after four months of storing the lanai furniture in the house, we moved it back into the room... hours before houseguests arrived. 

In spite of the dirty windows, we enjoyed the space with company.

On March 7 windows were washed, compliments of the window company. 

What a difference! I can't tell you how much that improved my outlook.

Today, March 13 was the last step... shades installation. Again, we received estimates from three companies, feeling sure we made good choices that suited us. 

Tah-dah.

View from the kitchen. 

View from the living room. 

Though it took from mid-September to mid-March to accomplish, we agree that we have a nice addition to our home.

We're considering a cabinet for the end wall behind the chairs, and I will definitely hang something on that wall (hmm, a quilt? 😄. 

The braided rag rug I've been working on for months will (hopefully) lay on the lanai floor. It's a 66" X 53" oval thus far and will help define the conversation space. I'm nearing the end of my clothing and bedding strips, so it should be finished soon. 

All I can say is... Gosh, this room took a long time to make liveable, but I will happily spend time in it. Linda