Too-Short Week

The week flew by! I've come to the conclusion that when snowbirds return to our area, I can expect my activities to increase. That's what clubs and groups do around here - "save" bigger events until everyone is together. 

This week, in addition to my usual ukulele club, line dancing, power walking, and virtual Bible study, I had blood work, went on an all day bus trip to three quilt shops with Big Cypress Quilters, attended a Central Florida MQG board meeting, processed my QuiltCon entries, and returned to an in-person Bible study. I will be with the 4-H Club kids tomorrow. No wonder I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything at home. I'm not!

In between times I did manage to fill a request from my cousin to make six Travel Trays for her to gift.

I really do enjoy making these, except for the snaps. Sheesh. It takes forever to hand-sew eight snap parts onto a tray.

I know someone will tell me to use Velcro or squeeze-on snaps. My reasons for not using these things are: Velcro sticks to other items in one's luggage; and over time, squeeze-on snaps work loose. In my opinion, sew-on snaps are the only way to go.

If you aren't familiar with a Travel Tray... it's meant to lay flat in a suitcase, and then as one stays at a destination, each corner can be snapped together to make a tray for valuable or important items you don't want to lose track of. 

If you want to make a Travel Tray, my free pattern is here.

Most evenings I continue to work on two projects.

Adding more big stitch hand quilting to the quilt made of Dad's sport shirt is primary because I'd like to enter it in QuiltCon. I'm so-o close to my goal of using up this ball of size 8 Spagetti perle cotton by Wonderfil.

I continue to slowly knit the Easy Shawl. It's about 75% finished.]

Our Big Cypress Quilters bus trip to Florida quilt shops went to Brandon (Gigi's); Plant City (Inspire!); and Lakeland (Fabric Warehouse). Surprisingly, while playing bingo on the way to Brandon, I won a $25 gift certificate to Inspire!

Not wanting to enhance my fabric stash, "restraint" was my word of the day. But I made purchases at each shop because I do like to support brick and mortar quilt shops. I made a point of buying sewing machine needles, thread (Scanfil, my new favorite), a new seam ripper, disappearing ink pens, and silicon thimbles. 

To use my gift certificate, at Inspire! I selected three half-yard cuts of Anna Maria's Director fabric line (upper right). It's a heavier, canvas-weight fabric that I have in mind to make into Christmas gifts. I've decided NOT to count those three pieces as incoming fabric because it's not quilting cotton and won't be use for quiltmaking. 

For myself I bought two one-yard pieces of fabric (upper left). I'm always on the look-out for black and white stripes and this one, by Dear Stella has an interesting grunge look. That bright lime solid is needed to continue making improv blocks started in January with Sherri Lynn Wood. I want to finish that project and lime solid will move me toward that.

I was fairly restrained, shopping-wise, wasn't I?

Since Fabric Warehouse was our third stop at about 1:30, that's where we had lunch. The store has a good-sized classroom, and in two shifts (there were 34 of us on the bus) we enjoyed a lovely potluck lunch with some purchased and some homemade dishes. 

As we were sitting in the classroom, my gaze wandered around the room to their quilt samples. One quilt caught my eye (upper right). It looked really familiar. The quilt is one I designed! Then I looked below to the left. There was my book: First Time Quiltmaking. 

"Oh my gosh!" I hopped up to take a closer look. Indeed, it's the book I wrote in 2009, though it's been revised and reprinted. Still, my name is in it (not in the masthead though 😦). There's still a picture toward the back, taken at my church in West Des Moines, Iowa, of people who learned quiltmaking from me. What a surprise to see it! I was told by an employee that the book is a required purchase for students wanting to learn quiltmaking in their classes.

You can see I've had a good week, but I'm more than ready for some at-home time. Soon. Linda

Time Gets Away

The older I get the more I slow down, and the faster time passes. I feel like I'm chasing myself to catch up with all that needs doing. 

Perhaps "needs" is too-strong a term for how I've sensed what must be done, but there always is a to-do, an obligation, or a commitment to fulfill. Time gets away from me more frequently. And here I thought my senior years would be like a storybook... spent whiling away hours on a rocker, knitting or napping. Ha! 

This past week was spent almost-frantically trying to finish the quilt I made for our Central Florida MQG 2nd Chance Fabric Challenge. Our "reveal" was at Saturday's meeting. Sixteen of our 47 members participated in making a quilt. (When the blog post goes up, you can see pictures of all of them our on Central Florida MQG blog.)

Anyway, here are a few pictures of what I spent my week doing... walking foot quilting, big stitch hand quilting, and making a faced finish on my 2nd Chance quilt. (Did you know it's not "a faced binding"? A "facing" and a "binding" are two different methods of finishing a quilt edge.)

facing, from the back

facing, from the back

big stitch hand quilting after machine quilting

domestic machine quilting

I haven't lost my fondness for circles.

I'll share completely-finished quilt pictures when I complete big stitch quilting. I'm trying to use-up all of this ball of size 8 Wonderfil Spagetti perle cotton. 

Sewing-wise, I'm starting to think about Christmas gifts for friends and family, and have a couple projects in mind to make. Gifts will be a reason to do a little retail, brick-and-mortar shop fabric therapy when I'm on a bus trip this week to three quilt shops. "Restraint" will be my word-of-the-day when I go!

An order of hand-dyed yarn arrived a couple weeks ago, and I'm itching to begin knitting it. I treated myself, for the first time, to some quality yarn from Expression Fiber Arts in North Carolina.

This is two hanks of hand-dyed Sincere Sock yarn (75% Merino/25% polyamide) with which I will knit a Panopeia sleeveless top. The link is to the pattern on Ravelry. Yes, I'm on Ravelry now.

Isn't the color just yummy? I like the intensity of the blue with a bit of purple and flecks of green.

I took a little time out to use my yarn ball winder to turn hanks into cakes.

But I haven't allowed myself to start Panopeia until I finish my Easy Shawl - Strickmich! It's coming along nicely, I think. When I completed Part 1 - the halfway point - I began Part 2. I've been told that though this Zauerball yarn feels a bit scratchy now, when it's been wet-blocked it will be soft on my skin.

With permission, I have a couple pictures to share - one from a blog-reader in New Zealand, and another from a friend. 

Antoinette made this quilt using my free Selvedge Quilt pattern found here. It tickles me to no end when I get to see what someone has made using one of my blog tutorials. Thank you for sharing this, Antoinette! It's beautiful! 

Jody emailed me this picture of her granddaughter cuddling the round loom knitted hat I made her last year.

Living in Wisconsin, I'm pretty sure that hat will be on her head soon!

Not so here... today's high is 82F with 85% humidity. Bring on winter, please! Linda

End of September (late report)

For six days starting Friday, September 25, I was on a quilting retreat.

Five of us stayed in a three-bedroom/three-bath resort condo near Orlando's theme parks where we sewed and sewed and sewed and spent copious amounts of time talking about quilts and other important things in our lives.

That's my excuse for not writing my usual end of September blog post at the end of September!

Happily though, I accomplished quite a bit of fabric sewing that boosted my monthly fabric-used total to an acceptable number: 11½ yards.

My total amount of fabric used-up thus far in 2026 - 47 yards - is running much lower than 2025's total due to my continued interest in knitting and crocheting. I'm not buying fabric though, so I'm still making slow headway at using-up stash. 

What I made with stashed fabric and scraps includes piecing this 57" X 61" Modern Maze quilt top that will be donated to a local charity. Next I'll do a lot of scrounging to come up with fabrics for a pieced backing.

This backpack is made using a World Cup panel and yardage for lining.  

My happiest moment came when I completed the last of 90 - 8" (unfinished) square foundation paper pieced blocks for Sunny a quilt pattern by Tara Faughnan that I began September 17, 2024. I can't wait to arrange them on my design wall and start webbing!

Book Recommendations

I listened to nine audiobooks in September. To be honest, I started several others too, but for various reasons couldn't continue. Those were: The Picture of Dorian Gray; A Good Keen Man; and Stitched.

In score order, from the highest 5.0 to lowest, books I listened to are:

• 4.4 - Olivetti, Allie Millington
• 4.3 - The Tenant, Frieda McFadden
• 4.3 - Anne of Green Gables, L.R. Montgomery (1908)
• 4.3 - A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle (1962)
• 4.2 - A Weekend on Allyson Island, Susannah B. Lewis
• 4.1 - In Your Dreams, Sarah Adams
• 4.0 - The Club, Ellery Lloyd
• 3.9 - The Wild Beneath, Kelly Andersen
• 3.8 - 100 Rules for Living to 100, Dick Van Dyke

Each month I try to read one "classic," and this month I'm calling two titles classics: Anne of Green Gables, and A Wrinkle in Time.

I gave Olivetti my top score this month because it's simply a charming story. What if a typewriter had a personality, and could talk? That's who Olivetti is.

He's bought by Beatrice Brindle and becomes a part of their family - a husband, and later, two children. He watches them grow as Beatrice types about her life. Then, unexpectedly, Beatrice disappears. Twelve year-old Ernest is stricken, and determines to find out where his mother went. Olivetti knows he's been taken to a pawn shop so Beatrice has money for a bus. The family she leaves behind has to find her and figure out why she left. Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

Frieda McFadden is again at her terrifying best, writing about the young woman, Whitney, who's renting a room on the top floor of Blake and Krista's brownstone. The couple plans to marry. When Blake loses his high-paying job (for no apparent reason), and Blake can't find lucrative work, they're forced to consider options for making mortgage payments. Odd things begin happening in the brownstone - like rotting fruit crawling with maggots. The timing makes one think it's Whitney who's brought trouble, but... The twisted ending will "get" you as it did me! Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

What can I say about the classic Anne of Green Gables but that it's a delightful, wholesome story about a young orphan girl who's mistakenly (meant to be an orphan boy) brought to brother and sister Matthew and Marilla's family farm on Prince Edward Island. Anne is enchanted with the scenery and locale, and Matthew and Marilee are charmed by Anne whose chatter is insightful and entertaining.

A few years ago I watched the Netflix series Anne With an E, and thought it was wonderful. I was glad to listen to the book and relive the TV series in my imagination. Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

A Wrinkle in Time was recommended by South Florida MQG quilters in our twice-a-month virtual Sip 'n Sew. When I mentioned my desire to listen to a classic each month, this title was suggested. I'd heard of it, but never read it. I'm glad I did! 

This is a story for children that adults will like - a science fiction tale with an underlying Christian theme. It begins "It was a dark and stormy night..." Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe, a popular boy in school, meet mysterious strangers who inhabit an abandoned house in the woods. They set off to search for Meg and Charles Wallace's dad who has been missing since engaging in secret government work - learning about tesseracts: "wrinkles in time." Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

Moira is turning 50, and wants to celebrate by inviting her girlfriends for A Weekend on Allyson Island, her waterfront home in Savannah, Georgia.

Moira is still missing her deceased husband, and tries to bury her sadness with alcohol. Erin is Moira's housekeeper and companion. Nell is Moira's Baptist friend who doesn't drink. Gemma is a high school friend who's dealing with overeating. Celia is a doting mother who helicopter parents her children. They all have personal challenges to overcome, and this is the weekend that affects changes. Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

In Your Dreams is a sweet love story, as you can probably tell by the book cover. Madison returns to her home town to accept a position as head chef at a new farm-to-table restaurant. What she didn't expect is that her brother's best friend would help launch the new restaurant and rekindle old feelings. Linda's score: 4.1/5.0

The Home Group is The Club for celebrities and the extremely wealthy. Exclusivity makes is a desirable place to escape the routines of life for everyone from movie stars to musicians to high profile businessmen. On the grand opening weekend of Island Home, growing problems between The Home Group CEO and staff, along with his brother's inadequacies, reach a pinnacle. The worst happens; someone dies. Then another goes missing. All the "beautiful people" have secrets they don't want revealed, but this is the weekend they could come to light. Linda's score: 4.1/5.0

About the last two books on my list... 

I thought The Wild Beneath was a too esoteric for my taste. It a bit of a reverie about a tsunami, the ocean, and how a whale becomes human - lovely but hard to believe.

And Dick Van Dyke's book about turning 100 years old (he'll be 101 in December!) is a nice autobiography when he shares about his years on the Dick Van Dyke show, working with Mary Tyler Moore under the direction of Carl Reiner; and the popular movies in which he appeared: Mary Poppins, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I enjoyed hearing about his experiences, including being married to Arlene who's 46 years his junior. But his suggestions for longevity - his 100 rules - seem mostly to be in direct proportion to one's income. Like, put in a swimming pool and big slide so your grandchildren come to visit.

Both are nice enough books, if you're interested in those things.

So... happy belated end-of-September! I hope you've found a couple titles that inspire reading. Linda

Playing Well With Others

It's been a busy week.

Last Saturday, not only did Central Florida MQG hold its monthly Sew-In, but members of the local 4-H Club joined us. 

During our lunch break "Sew and Learn," CFMQG members discussed various types of appliqué found in modern quilts. 

One of our members taught the kids how to use iron-on fusible to make fabric collages. You might see some unique-looking pumpkins among their projects.

Another member taught the kids to make ice cream sundae-looking pin cushions. They're made with felt gathered around a dryer ball, with a layer of chenille - like an old bedspread - gathered over that. 

The covered ball was hot-glued (handled only by an adult) to a small glass canning jar and topped with "sprinkles" (beaded straight pins) and a cherry (artificial). Everyone liked clinking glasses and saying, "Cheers!"

Over and over... "Cheers!"

On Wednesday I led a "Member-2-Member" domestic machine quilting workshop for my local guild, Quilting Guild of The Villages. These quilters, from several different chapters, brought their best sewing machines (many of them are heavy!) and a positive attitude to learn walking foot and free motion quilting. Of 17 students, would you believe 11 of them were quilting on Berninas!?

I assured them I'd "make them famous" on my blog if they posed for a picture. Thanks quilters! It was delightful spending the day with you!

And just to show that I haven't been too lazy, I'm knitting dishcloths in between quilting the quilt made with my Dad's plaid sport shirts. 

I have one more picture I simply have to share.

While power walking on Monday, I had to stop to believe what I was seeing. In front of a home were two life-sized sandhill crane statues, sculptures? And two REAL sandhill cranes had stopped to check out their stationary friends! Can you tell them apart?!

L-R Sandhill cranes: real, sculpture, real, sculpture

Don't you wonder what the real ones were thinking? Linda

Using Yarn, and Quiltmaking

Since writing my last post - a tutorial for making scrappy dishes - I've turned to yarn-y things. First of all.... tah-dah! My first knitted garment!

My Summer Soul Top, a beginner knitting pattern by Julia Piro, took me much too long to knit. I'm not a slow knitter, but rather so much frogging happened that I probably could have knitted three tops in the same amount of time... if I knew what I was doing!

It's a simple knit, knit, knit design (that's called a garter stitch) with 1 x 1 ribbing added to the sleeves and neckline. 

I couldn't be prouder.

I began knitting the top in late June, so wearing it in September isn't too bad. I wore it Saturday when I gave a program about using bias tape in modern quilts, and then presented a bias tape workshop to my friends in Central Florida MQG.

The top, made with Hobbi "Friends" cotton/silk blend is just the right weight for me who runs hot all the time. 

I also crocheted a Savy Shrug (I believe Jessica Cooper, the designer, didn't know how to spell savvy. 😏) I crocheted this in seven days using Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton.  I'm learning that crocheting is faster than knitting, though perhaps it's because I understand crochet terms better than knit terms. 

Now I've begun knitting Easy Shawl (What's up with a no-name design?) by Martine Behm. I'm knitting this one with Schoppel-Wolle Zauerballe. For portability, it fits perfectly in the rice bag I made a couple years ago. 

Wanting to start another crocheted garment, I landed on this Refined Lattice & Shell Yoke Top found on Etsy. It was offered for sale by InfinitePixelsPoetry for only $2.99.

However, after downloading and printing the pattern, I found several errors, including the fact that even by the fifth round, the top (crocheted from the top down) was not looking at all like the pattern! Shells, yes, but upside-down to the finished design. And where are the double sets of five vertical bars? Someone more knowledgeable about crocheting would have to explain this to me. 

Since Etsy had sent a follow-up email about my purchase, I gave the pattern a low rating mentioning specific problems within the instructions, including that what was coming from my crochet hook did not look like the pattern! I suggested that maybe the design was AI-generated.

The "designer" Ghulam, responded with a message that included a series of 😭😭😭 faces. Am I supposed to feel sorry for her? Etsy asked if I wanted a credit. I accepted. Perhaps my lesson-learned is that if I can't find the designer on Ravelry (I could not), I shouldn't buy the pattern.

My quiltmaking update is about the quilt I'm making with Dad's sport shirts, for our CFMQG "2nd Chance Fabric Challenge." I finished piecing the backing last week, got it pin-basted....

... and when the quilting is done...

...facing fabric is ready to be sewn to it. 

Now to find my lost quilting mojo. The guilt - "You should be quilting, Linda!" - weighs heavily.