Dabbling

Waiting for more than a week to post to my blog means I have too much stuff to share! So, you'll just have to bear with me. 😀

Wanting to use Quilter's Dream Puff batting to finish my 43" X 47" "Zing" quilt, and not having a batt on hand, I made do with two Puff pieces that worked out to the perfect size. Using a herringbone stitch, I hand-stitched to join the batts, stitching on both sides of the batting since it's so... well... puffy!

For the backing, I pieced many of the rejected bits from the quilt front - discarded because they weren't quite right. This makes me feel so frugal!

By the way, it was at this point that I decided I needed to get my solid scraps under control. In Maria Shell's workshop, I learned that she stores her solid scraps by color. So a quick trip into Target for ten 99-cent plastic shoeboxes was my solution. I made computer labels with the color name, and the matching ink color, to identify each box. They fit perfectly between my fabric stash cabinet and our computer armoire. Next I need to go through two bins of previously-collected solid scraps to sort them by color and add them to these shoeboxes.

Observant friends will notice "brown" at the bottom. That's not because I like using brown in my quilts (I don't!) but I needed a place to store those odd-ish colors like ginger, cumin, and wabi-sabi.

I'm quilting "Zing" with customized patterns that seems to suit all the small bits. 

It's not finished yet, but here's some of what I've done: walking foot quilting and free motion quilting.

From the back it looks like this. 

Doesn't Puff batting give it nice dimension? I prefer this single batt more than layering two battings.

I've quilted circles in each of the quadrants (drew around a ring template and then FMQed it). I think they'll look better when I finish quilting within them. 

This is the Iowa wind farm quadrant, from the front. 

Here is the quilting from the back. 

Using Aurifil 50-weight, I've been changing the top thread color to coordinate with the solid color that's being quilted. Aurifil 50-weight gray is in the bobbin.

I haven't quilted since December, when I finished "Italica," so it's been pleasant to work on "Zing," and slowly watch it come more to life. 

For Central Florida MQG, I spent a couple days joining blocks for the Scrap Snap quilt we're making to donate to the local, annual, St. Jude Children's Hospital Fundraiser. When piecing a block-based quilt, the web technique - see tutorial here - comes in very handy. 

Most evenings I'm continuing to hand stitch. This is Kawandi #5, and the third one I'm making with my grandma's vintage fabric scraps. This is 15" X 15". 

Book Recommendations

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley has a similar flavor to The Guest List (read and reviewed in December) also written by Ms. Foley.

This story is about friends who, a decade ago, attended Oxford University (England) together. Since then, they have met every New Year in a different place. This year, nine of them have traveled by train from London to a remote Scotland hunting lodge. Several people in the group, as well the young female hostess and male caretaker/hunting guide, have past behaviors they're trying to hide. When an unexpected winter storm confines everyone to the grounds, suspicions are aroused when one of them goes missing. When that person is found dead, secrets are slowly uncovered. 

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

Though I've already read a book about the pack horse librarians from Kentucky (The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes), The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, garnered extra interest because of a second, underlying theme - a genetic condition called methemoglobinemia that causes a person's skin to appear blue. Cussy Mary and her father have this condition that makes them "colored," by 1936 Appalachian standards. Cussy, who locals call "Bluet," becomes the beloved "book woman," riding Junia (a protective mule) on daily routes that take her into the most remote, impoverished areas to deliver reading materials, read to her patrons, and provide help. Against the dictates of men who profess to look out for her best interests, Cussy finds her own way, managing to work and thrive.

I admire Cussy's pluckiness. It was also very interesting to learn about this rare medical condition. I highly recommend this book.

Linda's score: 4.9/5.0

I love ice cream. So much so that I never allow it in the house because I'll eat it every night. Last week I succumbed, and now have French vanilla in the freezer. I am being disciplined about eating it, but when I saw this cartoon on Cindy's blog, I immediately recognized myself. 

Last week I made a trial effort to play cards with Dan again. Gin rummy. It went well! A pleasant evening, outdoors on the lanai, enjoying drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and I won! 

Linda