Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy

Not much new has been going on since my last post. Each day has an activity: line dancing, power walking, Zoom Bible study, Central Florida MQG, Big Cypress Quilter's, and oh... a quilter's pool party! That was fun. Seventeen of us shared a long hot afternoon eating hot dogs, mac 'n cheese, dishes everyone brought to share, and root beer floats, as all the while we were in and out of a gorgeous pool. 

A complimentary issue of Curated Quilts - this one with the theme "utility" - arrive last Friday.

I received it because my "Grandma's Scraps" quilt, made in the Kawandi-style using the challenge fabric (along the outside border) and vintage scraps, was selected to appear in the mini challenge section, in the back of the journal. 

I've previously had quilts selected for issues: Triangles; Stripes; Collaborate, and Youth  - and I can honestly say that the happiness of having a quilt in print doesn't diminish.

If you're interested in an annual subscription to Curated Quilts (no advertising, ever!), use this link to get a 10% discount.

Á la Amy Friend @duringquiettime from whom I learned (in a virtual workshop) Improv Paper Piecing, based on her book by the same name, I settled on an improv block design for a quilt. I used EQ8 to design the block that I'll sew into a modern quilt using only solids. After making several test blocks of various colors and sizes, I landed on an 8" square block in colors that are a big step out of my comfort zone: Sangria, Hot Pink, and Clementine for the background (Painter's Palette solids). 

I'm also using a new-to-me foundation paper piecing method with quilting freezer paper sheets purchased  here. I think I'm going to like this method! First, you don't need to shorten the sewing machine stitch length, and second, using my Bernina #10D (dual feed) edge stitch foot to glide along the freezer paper fold makes a perfectly straight line!

I went through all my threads to see what I could come up with for machine piecing, and machine and hand quilting. I was pleased to pull this assortment of Aurifil, Wonderfil, and DMC. Since I had enough Sangria and Hot Pink fabrics in my stash, I cut out all the pieces needed to make a 64" X 72" quilt. I'm awaiting delivery of five yards of Clementine so I can get started. 

Every evening I continue to slog away, hand quilting my Kantha quilt (I also took it to Big Cypress Quilters on Tuesday and got in three hours of stitching there). I sure don't know why stitching this seems endless. Maybe it's because I'm seeing more and more Kantha-makers showing their finishes. 

I still have a long way to go.

Today I counted, to find I've stitch 106 times along the 75" length of the quilt.

I have 84 more passes to make. 

In August 2013, we had our yard landscaped, and among other plants, this five foot-tall Bismarck palm was planted. The landscaper told us, "It's slow-growing." 

Ha! This is what it looks like today, not quite nine years later. We're guessing it's about 40 feet tall. as it's taller than the peak of our house, and hubs is no longer able to reach and cut off the lower palm fronds as they die. Since a Bismarck can get up to 60 to 70 feet tall, and it's already overpowering our small front yard, we've gotten an estimate to have it removed. Gulp.  

Though it's a perfectly healthy, gorgeous specimen of a Bismarck, the longer we wait the more it will cost to remove. So, September may be when it's taken out. I'm insisting on holding off through August because the fronds block the west sun on the roof in the late afternoon. My heart doesn't want to take it out, but my head is telling me we must. 

💔

Book RecommendationsWith the reading of The Return by Nicholas Sparks I've gone back to an "old" author whose first books I remember reading: The Notebook, and Message in a Bottle. Sparks hasn't changed his writing style, and can still touch the soft parts of a woman's heart. This charming story left me with that ooey-gooey feeling. Do you know what I mean? 

The Return is narrated by a man because the story is told from the perspective of Trevor Benson. He has returned to his deceased grandfather's home in New Bern (North Carolina) where he created many happy childhood memories, including learning bee-keeping. As he tends the bees, and gets the house fixed-up anticipating selling it, he reacquaints himself with the community. He also meets Natalie who works in the sheriff's department, and Callie, a teenager who often trudges past Trevor's house. As Trevor is adjusting to his life since being wounded in Afghanistan and considers what he'll do with himself now that he can no longer practice surgery, his interest in Natalie deepens. Though they both feel a connection, she's reticent about herself. What isn't she telling him? And why is Callie so angry, and defensive? Linda's score: 3.9/4.0 Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad is a difficult book to score. When a story is true, and sad, and makes you contemplate death, and how to live, it's not easy to say, "I enjoyed this." Still, I recommend it because it contains many profound insights. 

Suleika narrates the audiobook in a slow-speaking voice with an odd way of pronouncing words that contain the letter "t." Perhaps that comes from being multi-lingual with Arabic and French speaking parents. I found it a relaxing listen, in spite of the topic. I'll just come out and say it: while in her early twenties, Suleika is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. It's a terrible, painful disease, that involves difficult treatments and side effects. Suleika takes the reader through it all. She also examines her emotions, and those of her parents and boyfriend. As difficult as her experience was (you know she survived because she's narrating it!) her insightfulness through the experience leads her to acceptance as she takes a cross-country trip to meet face-to-face with some of the people who wrote to her during the worst of her illness.

Unknown to me, Suleika wrote about her cancer experiences as she was going through them, for The New York Times, and also spoke on NPR. Hence the reason people knew her/wrote to her.  I followed-up on her whereabouts after finishing the book.

For the sheer intensity of her story, and for the timely coincidence of this book recommendation (just as an Iowa friend has recently died from the same disease: acute myeloid leukemia), I'm scoring it high. If nothing else, the book will remind you to appreciate good health and the life it allows you to live.

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0Linda