Linda's Gone to Mars

Would you believe... "Linda's Gone to Mars," is the name of one of the Ukulele Player's Club songs?!

I had never heard this song until I join this group. Though last Thursday I attended and sang along during the club play, I didn't take along or play my uke. 😒

That's why I posted the song... "Oh my stars!" I feel like I am "going to Mars!" That's because last Wednesday my GP diagnosed my wrist problem as carpal tunnel syndrome. He prescribed Mobic, an anti-inflammatory drug, and told me not to play the ukulele, quilt, or sew for a month!

😳

If you're a quilter, you understand why I feel like I'm Mars-bound. Stark. Raving. Outer space-bound. 

I'm happy to say that before the doc gave me my "ticket to Mars" 😏 I did a few sew-y things.

I completed a Zip Up Travel Tray. This one is made with a Carrie Bloomston print. 

It's so neat how it springs open. That's due to the Pellon F72 double-sided fusible that must be used to get that action. And I'll add that what I was told is true... it's a stinker to hand sew the binding on each end. It's just awkward, but worth it for the end result.

I also sewed this adaptation of an Edith Bag using fabric I bought when I was in Switzerland in 2002. It seemed most appropriate to use this print because the bag will be used to hold EpiPens!

Our three year-old grandson, Luke, is highly allergic to peanuts, so his mom carries a EpiPen everywhere - actually, three pens: an unexpired one, an expired one, and a "trainer." The bag print is a good indicator of "emergency." I used Insul-Brite as batting, so the pens should stay cool (as they're supposed to) in the Texas heat.

Our DIL sent this photo after the bag arrived in the mail, showing me that it holds everything. Yay for being able to make something useful!

The Tula Nova pattern and the papers arrived in last week's mail, so I chose and cut out fabric for the first three rounds. I think I'll rename this Linda Nova, as prints and solids in all the colors of the rainbow are of my own choosing.  

I also cut out my Simplicity pattern for an Outback Wife dress using Ella Blue Fabrics "Bindi" barkcloth.

And not pictured are three more quilt tops to be quilted as part of my #summerofFMQ. Sigh. It's gonna be a while until any of these WIPs see action again. 

Through the Central Florida MQG I helped coordinate plans and then signed up to take this past Saturday's "Leftovers" workshop with Debra Jalbert (MadeofHonorQuilts) in Clermont, Florida. I looked forward to learning Debra's process for making tiny improv blocks that would use up scraps and make a neat modern quilt. But after the doc's order, I needed to back out. However, quilter and (former Iowan) friend Karen encouraged me to go anyway - to socialize and offer color advice. I did just that, as well as take pictures for the Central Florida MQG blog post about it HERE. 

Aren't these wonderful?! Such a good start for each of them to make a mug rug, or pillow, or quilt. I'm pretty sure I had nearly as much fun as everyone else. Of course, after seeing what my fellow quilters created, I've been anxious to try this myself.  

But I'm being good.

So, what's a ukulele-playing, crocheter, sewist, quilter supposed to do when she mustn't?!

Read. Watch TV. Clean house?! Ha. How about... Go to Mars?!  🚀 Linda

Outer Space

I finished my Outer Space quilt in June, before my carpal tunnel diagnosis. Could creating Outer Space have triggered anything related to Linda's Gone to Mars?! 😂

Outer Space is my own design that didn't turn out like I envisioned.

Though, I began with elements I really love - circles... (template made using freezer paper and a pencil on a string)

... and color. Orange and aqua solids.

I'm also very interested in transparency, a design element in which a shape appears to pass behind or in front of another. It's achieved by using several values of a color. 

In the photo below, you can see the horizontal color changes in the aqua, and the vertical color changes in the orange. 

After much repositioning and futzing around with the design, and tilting the shapes, I hand-appliqued the circles onto a pieced background of different gray solids. The aqua and white, and orange and white strips are pieced into the quilt.

The quilt sandwich was made with Quilter's Dream Cotton Request and a pretty tangerine-colored backing from the Etsy shop: Dragonfly Quiltworks - Spot-On Wide by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. 

Using light silver Aurifil 50-weight, I quilted a circular design to help tie together the largest orange circle and the aqua checkerboard circle.

Then I added a number of long wavy lines of rays that travel through the quilt, forming channels. 

The wavy rays are emphasized on both sides by tight waves and swirls.

I used "No Tails Binding: Mitered Corners by Machine" to bind the quilt. If you're a member of the Modern Quilt Guild, you can view my free binding webinar here.

Outer Space, 60" X 72"

I showed Outer Space at our June 12 Central Florida MQG meeting when my wrist was still well, and I was moving forward on my self-directed #summerofFMQ. This was to be the first of four quilt finishes this summer.

The other three quilt tops remain WIPs until my left wrist returns to normal.

Outer Space will be donated to Project Linus.  Linda

Passive Planning

For more than a week now, I've been really good about not using my left wrist. It hasn't improved much. It's definitely still swollen in spite of 600 mgs of ibuprofen three times a day, and icing it four to five times a day. I have my annual physical next Wednesday, so I'll have an opportunity to talk with the doc about it.

On Independence Day I did a little test, and tried free motion quilting. Even though I didn't used my left hand to press hard on the quilt sandwich, my wrist was sore later. So, it's been back to TV-watching and listening to an audio book - I want to highly recommend "Truly Madly Guilty" by Liane Moriarty. It's a real page-turner... if I was turning pages! 😂

I also sewed up nine 4" leaders and enders blocks. How much could that really hurt? Hmm. It did. So I stopped. But my design wall looks good with my growing collection on it!

Do you know how much I hate inactivity?! I don't do nothing well. So I've done some planning.

Using EQ7, I'm designing another all-solids quilt for our latest Central Florida MQG challenge. This challenge has us picking up any magazine, other than a quilting one, and choosing a page between 48 and 52 to use as inspiration for a quilt. Funnily, I'm going with a colorful ad for L'Oreal Wrinkle Expert. Should be good, huh? Every day I'm becoming more of a wrinkle expert!

I bought the digital download to make the Zip Up Tray Pouch, and have all the makin's for two of them ready to go. I see that South Florida MQG is making these at their sew day on Saturday, July 8.

I'm looking forward to sewing this fabric. It's "Bindi," one of the Outback Wife barkcloth prints made by Ella Blue. This fabric is in demand for dressmaking, so when I found it at Valli and Kim Quilt Shop in Dripping Springs, Texas, I bought enough for a dress for myself. 

Simplicity #8294 is a must-have for this fabric. Gertrude Made (find her on Instagram) is the Australian farm wife who specifically designed the pattern for barkcloth. JoAnn Fabrics has all Simplicity patterns for $1.99 today, Saturday, and Sunday. Otherwise, the pattern is $12.57. Yep, I'm a frugal shopper when I want to be. 

Online shopping is something I can do when my wrist can't play the ukulele, quilt, sew, or crochet, so I have a few items headed my way:

• a new set of quarter-inch thick 1" to 12" circle rulers for domestic machine quilting
• domestic machine rulers to quilt smaller circles
• 7 yards of Painter's Palette Solids in 7 new-to-me colors (for that L'Oreal challenge quilt mentioned before), and
• the pattern Tula Nova, with English paper piecing papers to make it. 

Tula Nova quilt

I'm not a fan of Tula Pink fabrics (not fond of the animal designs), but I definitely like this quilt. I'm think of making mine mostly of solids, but perhaps add a few prints in strategic places. This will be a long-term handwork project, whenever I get the use of both hands again. Sigh.

Yes, I'm feeling sorry for myself. I haven't attended any of my usual quilting activities - Big Cypress Quilters, or the Central Florida MQG Sew Day tomorrow - or been to Ukulele Players Club or touched my uke for three weeks. 

Have I mentioned? I don't do nothing well. And now you also know that I whine.

But don't you like how I enabled you to join in my shopping excursion with all those hot links?! 😂Let me know if you buy or make one of these things too. 👌 Linda 

Texas Catch-Up

Hello friends! And a very big thank you to the 70 people who entered my blog giveaway! When I asked for comments, I wasn't fishing for compliments about my project, but you certainly did just that. Thank you so much for liking the block I designed, and my hand quilting. You-all know how to make a quilter feel good!

The giveaway winner is Debbie M. from South Carolina. She let me know that she's already planning to make a Quilts of Valor quilt, so hopefully those patriotic solids will be put to good use soon!

Because of needing to write the block pattern, make and finish the block, and host the giveaway, I haven't been able to share where I was from June 16-27. Seems like a long time ago now, but we had a great time visiting our son and family in Austin, Texas.

We always spend one overnight at a LaQuinta Inn (they accept pets) on the way there, and the way home. The LaQuinta in Orange, Texas offered this morning waffle shape.

On Father's Day, all six of us ate at The Salt Lick, in Driftwood. It's our most-favorite Texas barbecue spot. At least 300 other people thought of the same thing - a Father's Day meal at Salt Lick - so we had to wait...  and that was at 11:10 am! Yes, it's that good! A quarter pound of pulled pork and blackberry cobbler is what I always order. And I eat every bit of it.

I was happy to get this three-generation photo, in spite of the photo turning out with a glare.

Austin and me at Salt Lick.

One hot day we took a short trail walk near Dripping Springs to find this abandoned house.

We imagined how it looked when it was inhabited. And there probably wasn't air-conditioning.

Me and my DIL, Lyn

I spent a couple hours with the grandies while they played at one of those bouncy-jump places. By now, I'd guess I've been to at least a half dozen different ones! They're a good place for little boys to burn up energy.

This one had make-believe rooms along the perimeter. Though we spent a little time in the school house, Luke and Austin liked the diner best. A little girl was happily waiting on them! It was pretty cute.

We left Hogan at our son's place while we went to Boerne for three days. We stayed with our formerly-from-Iowa friends. One evening the four of us went to Pearl in San Antonio, a refurbished area that includes the Pearl Brewery that's been turned into Hotel Emma. It was named after the woman who became CEO of the brewery following the death of her husband. She managed to keep the brewery going through prohibition, until 1933.

The interior has so much character!

We couldn't find information about what a night's stay might cost.

Must mention that after our stroll in the area, we had dinner at the NAO Culinary Institute of America where we ate a fabulous meal with wine-pairings. Dan really liked his grilled octopus, and lobster risotto. I could have eaten both his and my creme brûlées!

Though our friends live in the city, they have vegetated land that's frequented by deer.

Patty saves scrap food for them, and they seemed to particularly relish watermelon rind. Of all things. 

I attempted to teach Patty to crochet a dishcloth. Unfortunately, I picked a pattern that was a little too challenging. But since I left, she's persevered to learn through YouTube and has now completed a couple of dishcloths.

It's pretty amazing that our fellas have known each other since high school, and Patty and I met right after high school. These are the kinds of friendships to prize. 

Though I've been in my sewing room, I've been disappointed to not be able to quilt because of a repetitive motion injury. Believe it or not, it started because I overdid playing the ukulele! Then, I compounded the problem by hand-quilting while traveling. I didn't use a hoop, but gathered and clamped the quilt with my left hand. And then I crocheted, using my left hand to wrap and feed the yarn onto the hook. All of those activities hurt, and took their toll.

I was at the doctor's office last week anyway, for a routine check, so I showed her my wrist. She noted the swelling, asked me to hold my hands together in a prayer position and twist my hands outward and inward, and then diagnosed the repetitive motion condition.

No ukulele-playing. Wear the brace. Take ibuprofen three times a day. Put ice on it. Since last Wednesday, I haven't done anything that makes my wrist hurt (uke, crochet, handwork) and I've worn the brace, taken the drug, and iced.

It's getting a little better - no more sharp stabs of burning pain along the outside of my wrist - but I'm going stir-crazy. I don't do UNPRODUCTIVE!

So I sewed yesterday. Very carefully. This Lecien Jelly Beads Zipper and pattern is from one of the vendors at the Daytona Beach AQS show that Di and I attend in March.

It's a 10-1/2" X 12" bag that's open at the top (I used yellow Grunge lining), and has this front inside section too. It was fun to sew... not that I really need another tote. Sewing and quilting are mental therapy.

I need to get this wrist back to normal soon. There's FMQ to be done! Linda
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