What I Did in Six Days

Six days away with nothing to do but sew is the best way to be productive. Except for meal pauses and a couple hours spent power-walking, I sewed to my heart's content, and had my hands on nine of the ten projects I'd taken along.

Here are some of them, beginning with one of two quilt tops I put together.

This is Plaidish, a free scrap quilt pattern from Kitchen Table Quilting. Link to pattern. The top is 64" X 82". Making Plaidish is an opportunity to understand value, as dark, medium, and light scraps need to be sorted, identified, and cut to make the plaid pattern appear. I love how this turned out, and I think others like it too. This picture had had more than 600 likes on my Instagram account.

The other quilt top I finished is a String Diamond arrangement from My Quilt Infatuation. Kelly's tutorial is here. It was a good way to scrap-bust green and blue fabrics to make a 36" X 48" baby quilt.

I pieced six more 8" X 8" charming postage stamp blocks, bringing my total up to 17.

It would have been 18 blocks total, but I was two 1-1/2" X 1-1/2" squares short of lime green solid to finish this one!

I've been asked to make travel trays. It was easy enough to choose stashed fabrics, and piece a dozen of them.

But it's much more time-consuming hand sewing four snaps - eight individual pieces - to each of them! Still, I like this tray design best because it's flat in a suitcase, and without Velcro in the corners (an option in the pattern), it doesn't "stick" to clothing. Here's the free travel tray pattern.

This reversible bucket hat has been on my must-make list for several weeks. The pattern is free (are you noticing a frugal theme here?) on the Brother sewing machine blog. Link to pattern. I used my favorite JoAnn Fabrics print for the "fun side." It's the same print I used to make my ukulele case.

This is the plain side.  

Instructions call for one layer of medium fusible interfacing. I used Pellon 101 Shapeflex. When I make another hat, I'll use two layers to give the brim more stability. I'll be sporting this hat whenever I'm on the golf cart, as I've discovered that it keeps my I'm-letting-it-grow-longer hair out of my eyes. 

While my LindaNova quilt is waiting for me to sandwich and quilt, I started a new English paper piecing project - the Prudence Quilt. This is the EPP kit (pattern, templates, and papers) I won from @LilabelleLane on an Instagram giveaway. The two blocks needed for the quilt are the Bloom block (center left) and Cross Block (center right), of which I need 121 total! I EPPed one of each and know I'm gonna love that black and white striped Cross block. More fussy-cut pieces are ready, so I'll be all set when it's time for another road trip. 

I've been listening to one audiobook after another; 30 so far this year. They're fantastic when I'm power-walking (I'm thinking about getting wireless earbuds rather than use the corded buds that came with my iPhone), and are my escape from bothersome medical concerns (due to my oncologist recently diagnosing anemia, this week I will have the first of two iron infusions), and still missing our dear Hogan.


"Those Who Wish Me Dead" by Michael Koryta is about a teenage boy, Jace, who by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, witnesses a murder. Rather than go into a witness protection program where dirty cops will surely find him, Jace is placed in a troubled teen's wilderness program near Red Lodge, Montana. I enjoyed following this setting, as I have been on the Bear Tooth Highway, and in that mountain area. What follows are a series of scary chase-and-escape events that include forest fires. Honestly, this is one of the most intense books I've ever read, and I soon found that I shouldn't listen right before bed. Disturbing, but so well done! 

Linda's score 4.8/5.0

"Missing Molly" by Natalie Barelli is another well done story that takes place in England. The narrator speaks with a British accent, so I'm extra partial to this book. The story is about 12 year-old Molly Forster who witnesses the murder of her parents and sister, and afterward shows up for help at the local police station. She quickly discovers that she must run. In the present day, Molly is 23 year-old Rachel Holloway, working at a small newspaper. To boost their flagging publication, the boss decides that the team will research, write, and air a podcast on an old missing person case: Molly Forster. This was such an exciting read, I couldn't wait to go walking to listen more.

Linda's score: 4.9/5.0

Gosh, but I've had the good fortune to pick up a string of really excellent books! I hope you're keeping notes, and enjoying them too! Linda