End of Month

It's been a healthy exercise for me to have begun fabric-tracking in 2023. No, I didn't inventory my entire stash to do this! I'm only monitoring, each month, any new fabric that comes into my sewing studio and fabric that goes out in a project.

Disappointingly, January and February saw fabric gains. That's because I used a fabric gift certificate, won two fabric bundle giveaways, and bought yardage at QuiltCon. Though I've been creating in March, I have no quilt finishes to show for my efforts. I am counting as "outgoing fabric" pieced blocks that will becoming my modified version of a scrappy Harvest Moon quilt. This is my March fabric output. Only 2¼ yards, but 'll take it!

I've continued to tackle scrap piles - I'm scarping away! - cutting them into pieces for an Unallocated Quilt; Harvest Moon/yin-yang blocks; and a too-full basket of 1½" squares. Scrap reduction is visible, albeit still very messy!

Not wanting to separate any halves of the full moon (Harvest Moon) blocks I've already made, I've begun to lay out a combination of the full moon blocks, and the modified blocks I've dubbed "yin-yang blocks." I'm positing yin-yang blocks only along the outside. I've made 17 blocks so far. I think I want 32 blocks.

I prefer an on-point quilt layout because I think the design has more interest. Maybe I'll use a black and white stripe for the setting triangles. 

Also this week, during a long Big Cypress Quilters business meeting, I completed joining another row of  Prudence Quilt blocks. This is row five of 13 to be joined together. 

Prudence is a long-term EPP project started in June 2019 after I won Prudence Quilt EPP templates and papers in an Instagram giveaway from @lilabellelanecrations

Book Recommendation

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (who also wrote The Guest List which I gave a score of 4.4) is a suspenseful story about a half brother and sister, Ben and Jess.

As arranged, Jess arrives at Ben's Paris apartment only to find he isn't there. She makes inquiries of the other building occupants, each of whom makes her feel unwelcome. They don't want her there. Everyone knows something about Ben that they aren't sharing. Even the building itself, with its posh units, hidden staircases and dumb waiter, and la cave full of vintage wine, gives Jessie chills. Only Nick, one of Ben's college mates living in the apartment above, sympathizes with Jess's concerns, and is amenable to helping her find Ben. 

The book gives readers a Paris vibe that's different from the colorful and charming city we imagine. A darker side is revealed. With each chapter written from the perspective of a key character - Jess, Ben, Nick, Sophie, Mimi, and the building concierge - the suspense builds. An unpredictable ending made this a very engaging read. 

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

A friend forwarded a subscription email to me, and I'm glad she did. Thanks, Ardie! In a recent message, Sheri Cifaldi-Morel @wholecirclestudio shared 15 of her favorite quilts displayed at QuiltCon. I was delighted to see that our group quilt - Patent Pending - was among them. (The block I made is at the top center, below the scissors. It's a wheel of Aurifil thread spools and a thimble.)

"Patent Pending by Patty Dudek, Charles Cameron, Kitty Wilkins, Linda Hungerford, Pat Cummins, Sarah Ruiz, Valerie Luberecki, Yvonne Fuchs 

Statement: Patent Pending offers a way to remove those unwanted stitches without touching a seam ripper. Since this my least favorite quilting task, I recruited friends to create a Rube Goldberg* machine in quilting form. Our theme was Teamwork. With only the entry and exit points provided, each quilter designed a block for the ball to travel through the quilt. Each block is as wonderful (did you see the bird?**) and as unique and creative as the artist who made them! Assembling the quilt was an enjoyable interactive process, adding details and the final block which actually removed the stitching. My hope is that you enjoy looking at the quilt as much as we enjoyed making it.

* A Rube Goldberg machine is a chain reaction contraption intentionally design to perform a simple task in an indirect or overly complicated way.

**No bird was harmed in the making of this quilt. 

Featured in the Group or Bee category."  

Below is the last last block in the Rube Goldberg chain reaction. It was made by our group quilt coordinator, Patty Dudek www.elmstreetquilts.blogspot.com @elmstreetquilts. She quilted Patent Pending on her domestic machine. Correction! This block was made by Charles Cameron @feltlikesweets. Thanks for correcting me, Patty!

Linda