Makes, Observations, and Reads

As happy as I was to last week give a ruler quilting demo, and teach a modern wedges workshop, it's also good to feel caught up, and return focus to sewing. I've had a happy melange of projects and activities.

Recently, I was thrilled to be accept to Paintbrush Studios' "Get Sewcial" program whereby I receive weekly notices about new fabrics coming from Paintbrush Studios, and then have the opportunity to choose fabrics I like and propose a project using them.

My first proposal was accepted - to make a skirt using two Garden Glory prints by designer Maja Ronnback. Fabrics arrived last week, so on Sunday I made my skirt using one of my favorite books The Essential A-Line by Jona Giammalva. If this book sounds familiar, you've been following my blog for a long time! I've made several skirts from this book. This is the "layered skirt" design.

See how well the Bernina invisible zipper foot #35 works? It was such a good investment; I can use it on both my 440QE and my 770QE machines.

Once I get the right top to go with the skirt, I'll soon be wearing it to church. 

I'm caught up on my temperature quilt through the end of April. Most of the blocks are joined now, so it's clear that I've completely committed to this layout. It's still not looking exactly as I hoped, but as it grows I'm picking out a more flowing connections.

Also, I added one more color to the top of my color key, thinking that a high of 89+ isn't probably an accurate reflection of what our Florida summertime temps might be. So, 89 to 91 is now represented by Painter's Palette Rosebud, and PP Sangria has become 92+, for a total of 21 solid colors ranging from 33F to 92F.

A few weeks ago I attended a Master Gardener's sale at the Wildwood Community Center, and came home with several perennials. This Princess Flower is already a favorite that I can admire from my sewing room bay window. It's supposed to bloom all summer. 

As I was walking Hogan, I saw this beautiful bird "stiltedly" walking along the edge of a pond. 

And speaking of Hogan - our dear 15-1/2 year-old boy - I got such a kick out of seeing him nap! His head is under the dry bar.

I couldn't help but worry that he'd be startled and bang his head! And yes, you're seeing a "tumbleweed" of dog hair by his nose. His fall-out is never-ending. Sigh.

Here are two recent-reads to recommend.

The Wife Between Us is about a seemingly perfect marriage, and about the jealous ex-wife of a wonderful, attentive husband, and about a young woman preparing to marry this wonderful man... and nothing is as it seems. The story reeled me in, and convincingly landed me just where the authors intended.

Two women collaborated to write this book - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen - and it's apparent. The narrative contains so many details that need to be kept straight, that one writer could easily have overlooked something. It's an impressive work of fiction. Linda's score: 4.5/5

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell is a sad story about 15 year-old Ellie who goes missing as she's walking to the public library. It's written from four narratives perspectives: Ellie's; Ellie's loving mother, Laurel; Ellie's psychotic kidnapper; and Laurel's boyfriend. In spite of Ellie's harsh treatment, I felt satisfied by the outcome. This story kept me captivated. Linda's score: 4.5/5

Linda