Two Finishes

Life has been in full swing around here as I find myself more and more involved in quilting activities. Besides teaching two, five-week First Time Quiltmaking classes in July and September, I'll also be teaching two, one-time, six-hour free motion quilting workshops in September and October. All four of these classes are through the Lifelong Learning College. Classes are open to anyone - you don't have to be a Villages resident.

As well, I am in the midst of writing and getting photo permissions for a magazine article about modern quilts inspired by artwork. It's expected to be in the November issue of American Quilter magazine.

In between times, there's still twice-weekly line dancing, stitchery group, Bible study, occasional visits to the pool, and activities related to two quilting guilds - including the Central Florida MQG of which I am now acting president. CFMQG has just announced a different meeting location, a meeting date move to the second Monday night of the month, and we're in the midst of finalizing and voting on bylaws. Whew.

This wonderful stuff means time away from sewing room progress, so I squeeze in what I can.

After seeing this Spicy Spiral table runner in blog post on SewWeQuilt, I found a YouTube video showing how to make it, and figured it out for myself. It's not identical to the pattern, but close enough, and I definitely like how it looks on our table.

We're accenting our great room - entryway, living area, chat corner, kitchen and eating area - with spicy orange, and I like that color pop. In the runner you'll see some Carolyn Friedlander "Architextures," Denyse Schmidt prints, and Laura Gunn "Painter's Canvas."

Again, I used that great 505 basting spray, and then quilted simple, straight lines near all the long seams.

A couple weeks ago I finished this hand embroidery following an Australian magazine pattern using linen fabric and six strands of Cosmo embroidery thread for backstitching. 

Matryoshka doll pillow, 11" X 13"

I used Derwent Coloursoft pencils to color-in the embroidery, giving the dolls some depth.

I don't have any June BOM blocks to sew (I'm the Queen Bee this month in my Mid-Century Modern Bee) so I decided to surprise Susan by sending her a 12" block I made according to her recent blog post about another bee she's in. I'm not in her bee, so I hope she doesn't mind! The block is so pretty, and I just couldn't resist sending her a little bit of Florida.

Healthwise, I'm doing great. The keep-cancer-away drug I'm on (Arimidex) hasn't cause any noticeable side effects, and I've been able to maintain my weight - and even lost a couple pounds - after the doc told me that Arimidex would likely cause a six to eight pound weight gain by July. I'm closely monitoring what I eat, since this is the only thing about breast cancer I can control.

To focus more on the nutritional value of what I eat, I've become "a juicer." The juicing machine was a big investment, but a Bed, Bath and Beyond 20 percent off coupon helped a lot - like $76 off! I chose this Omega 350 after much online reading and watching a Youtube demonstration.

The first time I used it, I managed to clog it, but "reverse" worked to easily back out of it. That taught me to be more careful about the size of the celery and carrot pieces I put in. One of the first drinks I prepared was this Dr. Oz Green Smoothie. With a few shakes of salt (I have low blood pressure, so salt is okay) it was yum! And it was really this green! Pretty, isn't it? Other drinks, made with kale, don't look as good. I'm still trying to figure out how to put the pulp to good use. I've tasted "crackers" made with pulp, and they're quite good, but don't want to buy a dehydrator.

Thankfully, there's no uncertainty about anything quilt-related! I'm gung-ho on a new quilt by one of my favorite designers, Emma of Ballarat Patchwork in Australia. Emma is so talented! She designed "Snowflake Medallion," the quilt for which I won a Bernina sewing machine last year. I'm hoping this new pattern will have the same magical effect on my quiltmaking! I'm really happy with the colorful fabrics I pulled for it. More pictures as I progress.

Linda