Doin's, and Legos

Here in Florida, we're into the heat of summer (though it's not a whole lot different than a summer in Iowa), with daily temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. I'm still making an effort to stick with my weekly exercise routine of one indoor cardio workout with weights, two line dance classes, and power-walking outdoors twice a week. Instead of afternoon walks, I'm trying to get out a little earlier - by 10:30 am, though I still sweat mightily. When exercise is out of the way, it's sewing room time and this is what's doin'.

Keeping up with weekly installments of the Summer Camp Modern Mystery Quiltalong with Weeks and Bill @modernquilt studio. I haven't tallied all the 5½" square blocks I've made, but it's an average of 20 a week. From installment 4, these are the 22 blocks based on my preferences for going to a: beach, state fair (None compares to the Iowa State Fair - a must-experience!), parade, water park, and an obligatory overnight campout. I'll give Weeks and Bill kudos for coming up with fun options for choosing blocks!

As I've continued to quilt my improv quilt - Alternate Route - it's been obvious that all the handling at the machine and in my lap, has made the batting along the edges shred and fluff, and be very apparent on the bright royal blue (Patriot) colored-fabric. So in the past few days, I really focused on finishing the machine quilting part so as to be able to square-up the quilt and add facing. 

During a lovely two-hour Facetime chat with my friend Maureen, in South Florida, I made good progress on hand-stitching down the facing. 

Now I can complete hand-stitching at leisure. Have you ever done that - bind or face a quilt and then add hand-quilting?

At our June Central Florida MQG meeting, we were presented with a "Choose Your Own Challenge" due at our November 11 meeting. We have four options from which to select - 1) Sustained and Repurposed Quilt; 2) Two-Color Quilt; 3) Half-Rectangle Quilt; or 4) Color of the Year Quilt using 2023 Kona and/or Pantone. 

Having already experimented with a two-color quilt, and determined not to buy more fabric, I decided to challenge myself to make a quilt from stash, with Half-Rectangle Triangles, or HRTs as most quilters refer to them. I invested in Latifah Safari's "HuRTy 1" ruler, with options for making 14 sizes of HRTs.

At first glance, the ruler seems very confusing because both sides are used, but after watching a series of Latifah's short YouTube videos to understand HuRTy terminology, the chart that comes with the ruler, and ruler markings, I started experimenting, making a few sizes of "A" blocks (left) and "B" blocks.

Thinking this HRT design might also fulfill my desire to make a quilt for the American Patchwork and Quilting Super Scrapy Quilting Challenge at QuiltCon 2024 (a minimum of 30 different fabrics must be used), I attempted to design an HRT quilt in EQ8.

While I've never made a quilt according to a design I've come up with, going through such a design exercise helps me visualize possibilities, and launches me into a project. I expect I'll start by making HRTs for a block or two, and begin arranging them on the design wall to see if an arrangement speaks to me.  

Book Recommendation

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale takes place in London, where 31 year-old Cassandra's life is falling apart. Her four-months boyfriend, Will, has dumped her; the public relations agency where she works as just fired her; she's inadvertently found herself among animal rights protestors, - Is that blood that's been thrown in her face? - and her flatmates have mentioned it's time for her to leave. She and her life have crumpled, literally, into a heap.

When she finally gets to her feet and heads back to her one-room flat, and Will shows up to take her to dinner, she realizes that she's reliving the previous day. How is that possible? Can she change the awfulness of what's already transpired? Can she make Will love her?  Can she intentionally time-travel?

Cassandra is what I would call "an odd duck," with unusual quirks and behaviors. She's intolerant of untidiness; dislikes being touched; and doesn't understand human emotions, yet she has an envious ability to read people's feelings through the aura of colors they emote.

Linda's score: 3.9/4.0

Our Texas grandson Austin,is into Legos as much as his dad was. While Austin was here, he assembled this funky-looking Lego sewing machine for me, purchased as a kit from Sewtopia at QuiltCon 2023. I think it looks companionable with the other Lego sewing machine gifted to me by René of @renecreates. That luscious-looking ice cream sundae is a pin cushion made by my CFMQG and QGOTV quilter-friend Peggy. If only all our sundaes were that much larger than our sewing machines! Ha!

It seems that Lego has also designed a series of floral bouquets. Austin has assembled several of them for his mom who, after returning home, sent me this picture of their dining room table. 

The vase is full of a Flower Bouquet and a Wildflower Bouquet, and it's sitting on top of one of my Kawandi. This particular Kawandi, made in early 2022 mostly with my Grandma's vintage fabric, was one that was selected for publication in the "Utility Quilts" issue of Curated Quilts. I'm tickled that it has a new home and it part of such a pretty arrangement.

Linda