Middlin' Activities

With Christmas presents made, wrapped, and ready to be delivered, I'm catching up on my last 2023 obligations. 

Foundation paper-piecing the last two blocks in the FPP Satisfaction QAL with Amy Friend @duringquiettime, "Compass Rose" is block 11 of 12. I wanted purple in this quilt. Though I have a very limited purple print stash, I came across this piece purchased after being in Australia. I remember buying it because it reminds me of the first time I saw blooming Jacaranda trees, in Sydney. The pink print is an old Blueberry Park leftover. If I do say so myself, I think this is a striking block.

I'm also preparing QuiltCon quilts to ship. That means making labels, and making and hand-sewing sleeves for hanging.

For my Feelin' Groovy maximalist quilt, I decided that a plain 'ole muslin sleeve wouldn't cut it. So, I picked a print that's more in keeping with the maximalist style... and hoping Feelin' Groovy attracts a buyer at QuiltCon who will want to hang it in their home or office. 

At our Central Florida MQG annual holiday party last Saturday, December 9, those of us who wanted could participate in a $15-$18 gift swap. My gift was an 8-piece fat quarter bundle of Painter's Palette solids that was snagged by my friend Donna. As we open gifts and/or "stole" each other's presents, I was the last to have a chance to steal this plastic case for storing fabric strips. 

I moved my strips (I've never bought a jelly roll, so my strips are leftover from other projects) from this rectangle bin... 

... to the new, long bin. I love it! Notice the two "bars" on top that hold down the strips? Genius.

Having gotten these strips organized, I thought to do something with them. My latest squirrel interest was prompted by an email/newsletter from Denyse Schmidt. In it, Denise mentions traveling with Amy Butler to Morocco, and teaching fabric twining. Denyse uses jelly rolls.

I promptly cut some of my strips into ¾"-wide pieces and began to make skinny twine. Next I'll try twining with wider fabric strips. Not sure yet what I'll do with it, but I'm thinking "purse." 

By the way, I'm fabric-tracking this too! I figured out that after it's been twined, a length shortens to about 60% of the original length.

Book Recommendations

The Wife Upstairs by Frieda McFadden is the third title I've read by this author, and it's a good one.

The premise is that an extremely handsome, and popular NYT best-selling author, Adam Barnett, meets Sylvia as she's preparing for a job interview. When he learns that she's looking for work, he offers her a lucrative position, including board, as a companion to his invalid wife, Victoria, in their remote Montauk home. 

When Sylvia takes the position, she does so with apprehension. The huge, gorgeous house gives her the creeps, yet she's determined to offer her best to Victoria who's partially paralyzed and capable of speaking only one or two words. Victoria leads Sylvia to her journal. In its pages, Sylvia reads how Adam and Victoria met, their idyllic romance, and how the hidden side of Adam began to emerge at their wedding shower. Sylvia comes to understand that her apprehensions were justified, though she's not sure who she should trust.

Very engaging! This was an I-can't-put-it-down read. 

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson is another WWII story. While I most often decline reading WWII stories - I have to be in the mood to become sad about a refugee's plight - this one took a different approach. 

Two young German children have escaped the Gestapo, walking and hiding for months through Germany and Belgium, aiming for London. When they're separated, each promises the other that they will find them, 

In present-day London, Quenby Vaughn is a journalist, looking for the next story that will let her keep her job. She's pursuing a lead about a wealthy British family that may have hidden their support for Nazi activities during the war. As she's beginning to chase the story, she's unexpectedly contacted by Daniel Knight, an elderly man whose story intrigues Quenby. He wants her to locate his childhood friend, Brigitte, the young girl he escaped with from Germany more than 70 years ago. In spite of many reasons she believes she should not take on the job, for reasons of her own she wants to help him understand what happened. As she investigates, everything she's ever wanted to know about Mr. Knight's story, and her own, are revealed. 

I enjoyed following Quenby's efforts to uncover the truth, and the unexpected twists the author wrote into the story. 

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

I've gifted two quilts for Christmas presents.

Crumb-y, the 71" X 85" quilt I pieced into Harvest Moon blocks after making fabric from scraps, now belongs to my excellent and dedicated line dance instructor Helen. I've been dancing with her for ten years now. She said she loves the quilt. 😀

In case you're interested, this is the quilt label I created for Helen's quilt, using my MacBook Pages software.

I typically note as much information as possible, including the recipient's full name, and my name with maiden name. 

Labels are printed on EQ Printables, a paper-backed fabric cut into 8½" X 11" sheets. I print them on my Canon G6020 inkjet print, a wireless printer with refillable liquid ink tanks.

Separately, I fold into the quilt a print-out of instructions for quilt care. Here's my Quilt Care PDF, in case you'd like to use it.

I hope your holiday preparations are coming along smoothly. Linda