Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Smatterings

Lately it's been a smattering of this and that, though most of the "this" has been cutting up prints from my scrap bins. I'm sewing strips and cutting squares to make "Slopes" from CrazyMomQuilt's book, "No Scraps Left Behind."

Amanda Jean made her version from solids, I've been concerned how the arrangement might translate into prints. What do you think?

I'm pretty sure I like it, though I still have options for making changing. I'd like to have all the rainbow colors included, but I don't have many reds, blues, and purples as scraps. I'll cut into yardages if need be. No big surprise, but I have the most scraps of aqua!

Because I needed it, I made a shoulder strap for my ukulele. While it isn't much of a problem to sit down to hold and play the uke, it's quite another challenge to stand and properly support it. So... 

After a review of online how-tos, I realized I had everything I needed here at home to make a strap: a 3M hook (affixed to the bottom end of the uke); fabric (of course, I chose the print that matches my ukulele case); fusible fleece; ribbon; and a button.

If anyone is interested in a tutorial for this, please say so. I'm sure it could be applied to making a guitar strap too.

Last Saturday I finished listening to the eighth and last book of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. In June 2016, I began listening to the series again (for the third time) so it's taken me ten months to hear all eight books! Wow! Diana is such an incredible writer... I can't fathom how much research and time she has spent writing these huge tomes! But I am most assuredly one of her biggest fans. As well, I'm a fan of the audio book-reader Davina Porter who does the voices and accents so beautifully that you can easily imagine the characters conversing.

I can't recommend this series highly enough! Look for the books in this order:

Outlander (published 1991)
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
Fiery Cross
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
An Echo in the Bone
Written in My Own Heart's Blood (published 2014)


My quilty friend, Becky, has tested my Florida Quilt pattern, and finished her quilt. I really appreciate the time and effort she made, foregoing her usual projects, to complete this quilt. Thank you, Becky!

On Monday we went to nearby Sumter Landing to find places to photograph both my quilt and hers. One of the pictures will be the pattern cover.

To show quilting that's not free motion quilting, Becky used a walking foot on her Bernina 440, and the serpentine stitch. I like the way the "water currents" change directions.

I still think this is the perfect backing fabric. It's "State Cotton" by Windham Fabrics.

While we were taking quilt pictures at several sites, a photographer with Villages-News.com came by to inquire as to what we were doing... and then he took our picture which was published online this morning! 
 Linda

11 comments:

  1. I have always been an admirer of this Florida State quilt! Would love to know how you made it and see if I could make an Idaho version. Or do you already have one designed?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw that pic on the online newspaper site yesterday and recognized it from your blog! (from the sidebar) Moving to TV in 5 yrs and love reading your blog. Funny thing...my husband and I bought ukes the beginning of this yr (we saw a pic of the TV uke club, everyone looked so happy, we want to be that happy!) and I had bookmarked your post with the link to making a uke carrying case. Would love it if you could post the tutorial for making your lovely uke strap. On our way up to Altoona, PA this wknd for the 4th Annual Alleghany Uke Fest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Suzanne! I hope you see my response here as I am unable to reply to you directly (your profile is set up as "no-reply commenter.") It's interesting that you know you'll be moving to The Villages in five years! We sure didn't know that far out that we would move here! In fact, we moved within five months of visiting The Villages for the first time. Happy you are interested in the Ukulele Players Club. I have been attending only since January 19, so am in the throes of working hard to learn to play well. I'll see if there's more interest in my strap tutorial, as I do think they can already be found elsewhere. Sounds like fun to attend a ukulele festival! I'm sure I'd love that... but I bet my hubs wouldn't! :-)

      Delete
  3. I like your Slopes! That's one of my favorites in Amanda Jean's book, and I like it in prints!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh I love the strips. I could make a house cozy with all of my strips. seriously.
    I should get that book. It looks like a good one.
    Your strap is lovely. There are so many good tutorials on making those, basically the same as a camera strap I guess, with some adjustments
    Yes, the Florida quilt is super pretty. I should make one of Virginia. The backing fabric is epic. We live in such bountiful times. Happy Thursday

    ReplyDelete
  5. So fun to see your "smatterings" as they seem to be more fun than my smatterings! I love the quilt, and congrats on hitting print!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What program do you use for audible books? I would like to listen to the series you listed but not sure how to go about getting audible books.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your strap is as bright and happy as I'm sure you are when playing the uke! Love the Florida quilts- and the serpentine stitching was a great choice. How did you "hang" the one quilt on the side of a building?? Nice that the photographer shared your outing and your quilt in the news.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Really fun update Linda! I like the Slopes using prints - it is fun to see all the various fabrics. I'll have to check out your book recommendation as its' time to start finding some summer reading materials (one of the benefits of being a school teacher is time to read in the summer!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your smatterings are looking good. I want to thank you for listing the order of the Outlander series. I ran a search on Outlander Series through my online library and there was no match. I forgot to write down the author. Now I will try again by title. I use Overdrive from the public library for both audiobooks and ebooks. I hope we have it. Otherwise, any suggestions short of buying them?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm pretty impressed with your smatterings and think they look great with prints. Bet your Florida pattern is a big seller when it hits the market. What fun to be newsworthy! Eat it up! XO

    ReplyDelete

I reply to comments! If you are a no-reply commenter, or your profile appears as anonymous, I will reply to you directly on this blog post. Please check back!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin