Pony Making, and Working Towards Finishes

This is a picture of the serious industry that went on last Sunday at Sterling Heights Recreation Center in The Villages. Members of my Big Cypress Chapter of Quilting Guild of The Villages met for about four hours to make Patchwork Ponies. Edited to add: The Patchwork Pony pattern is not mine! It can be purchased from Jo Avery HERE.

Since joining Big Cypress Quilters in 2015, these ladies have become good friends. Well, that would happen, wouldn't it, if you meet every Tuesday afternoon as we do?! 

I know for a fact that other Big Cypress Quilters are making ponies too. I will take pictures of our pony corral on Tuesday, November 8 when Big Cypress hosts a baby shower for Children's Home Society of Florida. Not only will our Patchwork Ponies be given, but also many other children-related items - diapers, clothing, toys, books, and quilts. This is the third year that our chapter has hosted such an event, and it's always heart-warming to see how everyone contributes. 

I've been working on a couple more ponies myself. Though they aren't finished, they will be.

I've been focusing on QuiltCon entries that need to be finished, photographed, and written about to enter by the October 31 QuiltCon deadline. 

My sewing room looked like this over the weekend as I assessed whether I added enough big stitch quilting to my #30daysofimprovquilt, and I sandwiched, pin-basted and began quilting my improv log cabin quilt. 

The #30daysofimprovqal quilt will be called Harborage, a safe place for ships, and for shelter in general. 

I faced the edges (I always follow this Invisible Faced Binding tutorial) and am currently hand-sewing it down. 

My improv log cabin quilt sandwich is put together with Quilter's Dream Puff batting, and I'm spiral quilting with my Bernina 770QE. I changed the stitch length to 3.2, and have been quilting with 28-weight Aurifil thread on top; 50-weight in the bobbin. 

What was formerly my improv log cabin quilt is now officially being called Log Jam. Once you see the whole quilt top and the wonky triangle-shaped cabins on the four corners, you'll see how the name suits it. 

I'm also a bit excited about having ordered a new ukulele. Mind you, nothing's wrong with my old one which is a Kala brand concert ukulele

As an aside, in case you don't know, ukuleles are made in four sizes: soprano (the smallest uke is like the one Tiny Tim played. I know, I'm dating myself!); concert; tenor; and bass. All four sizes have four strings, but the bass is strung with different notes than the other three which are G, C, E, and A - George Clooney Eats Apples 😄

 How'd you like your uke lesson?!  

Anyway, I've ordered an Enya brand tenor uke, with the idea that by having a larger uke, I'll have more string space in which to begin picking.... plucking strings rather than strumming as I do now. I had an opportunity to hold and hear an Enya, and the sound is just beautiful with tones more more like a guitar. This is a picture of the blue mahogany uke I'm getting.

I only hope that when it arrives I don't overplay it and cause tennis elbow... which is exactly what I did when my Kala uke arrived!

In case you remember that in 2017 I made a case for my concert ukulele, I'm already thinking that I'll have to make a colorful case for my tenor uke too!   

 

Book Recommendation

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin, is the story of Reese, a young man who has suffered the loss of his beloved wife Emma. Since her death, Reese has become reclusive, living on a small lake in the Southern US, repairing boats with his brother-in-law who lives on the opposite side of the lake.

One day, Reese reluctantly goes into town where he encounters a young girl, Annie, selling lemonade. He notices that her customers are not only paying for lemonade, but also dropping cash into a large pickle jar. Surmising what's going on, a sudden turn of events puts Reese in the middle of a crisis to save Annie's life. What's happening to Annie, and what Annie's Aunt Cindy is dealing with, forces Reese to recall and revisit why he's leading the lonely life that he is. 

This is the best book I've read so far in 2022. When trying to determine why I like it so much, it has to do with: 1) Christianity, including bits of Scripture; 2) quoted poetry that adds to the beauty of the story; and 3) medical information that gave me a new appreciation for one's heart - what it does, and how much it's capable of. This author surely did much research to provide the level of detail in this book. I loved it!

Linda's score: 4.6/5.0