Time Flies

Time flies when you have company! Days whizzed past last week when our son and two grandsons from Texas came for an almost-six day visit. I love having them here.

Three extra people meant turning my sewing room into a bedroom, and that's a good time for some deep cleaning. Dust and fibers were vacuumed off the blinds and design wall, baseboards were wiped down, and every surface was generally decluttered and swiped clean. As we know, it won't last, but it's nice to have a refresh. 

Our timing for their visit wasn't the best. Between the high heat and Tropical Storm Debby we were kept from outdoor activities. It can be a little challenging for 10 and 14 year-old boys to find indoor things to do. Anticipating their visit, I bought another Lego flower set - Flower Bouquet. Both boys made flowers - roses, poppy, aster, lavender, snapdragons, daisies.

I've added them to the Wildflower Bouquet they during their last visit, so it's pretty impressive. Best; they never fade.

We played Rummikub, Uno, and Concentration; saw the movie Twisters; went to a local flea market; played indoor miniature golf, and bowled. But one form of entertainment that has been the most enduring, is playing with empty Publix yogurt cups! Who knew?!

I saved yogurt cups about ten years ago, thinking they'd be good for toddlers. And they were! Surprisingly, they're still popular!

Luke stacked 55 cups, and then, going from the top down, he quickly made stacks. He even had fun sorting them by types and flavors! Easy, free entertainment.

 

During down time, mostly while watching Olympics, I hand stitched (with #8 perle cotton) all of the third wedge of the modern potholder quilt, Pot Luck.

And since returning my sewing room to useable status, I sewed labels on two quilts - Prudence and Satisfaction. 

I also made blocks for the Like Totally BOM being offered through the Seattle MQG. August blocks are three inset circles.

Though I've made many inset circle blocks, I tried the new-to-me method offered in a tutorial. It involves freezer paper, a glue stick, and Elmer's school glue, and worked very well - a nice, precise way to ensure a circle sews perfectly into a hole. The inset circle tutorial is by Louise Wackerman @imfeelincrafty who also designed this Like Totally BOM. 

Book Recommendation

I was on a waiting list to listen to Ruth Ware's new book One Perfect Couple. For the second time, Ware disappointed me. 

The premise for this long story is that a producer is making a TV series based on five high-profile, unmarried couples - social media successes - who meet on a tropical island to face challenges that lead to determining which two people are most perfect as a couple. 

Lyla is unwillingly along for the ride, so to speak. She's a scientist and it's her boyfriend, Nico, who has aspirations of being a successful actor. One Perfect Couple is his big break; Lyla anticipates she will be kicked out within two weeks. What no one expects is a tropical storm that knocks out power and the island's desalination facility. The turmoil and anxiety that follows involves food and water rationing, and nine (remaining) distinct personalities, each one selected by the producer to create strong opinions and entertaining dissension. 

While the story itself is good, I was overwhelmed (again) by the foul language. My rough mental tally heard 87 uses of the disgusting four-letter word. Why? Also, narrator Imogene Church sounded too familiar. While she's good (according to the Internet, among the top five audiobook narrators) I've heard her too often. 

So, for the story I'd give this book a 3.6; for the language, I give it a big fat zero.

Linda's score: 3.6/5.0

I was also on a waiting list for Shari LaPena's book What Have You Done? This one was definitely worth the wait!

From the moment I began listening, I was hooked on the story of Diana Brewer, a 17 year-old whose body is found in a field near the small community of Fairhill, Vermont. Diana's boyfriend is devastated, but quickly becomes a suspect, as do several other men, enticed by Diana's beauty. While teenagers and parents try to understand who would murder such a popular, well-liked girl, secrets being kept by several people may have prompted her death. 

Excellent narration by January LaVoy, Jorjeana Marie, and Barrett Leddy made the story very entertaining.  

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0 

  

Linda

June Visitors, Making, Fabric Tracking, Reading

I'm late in posting my June fabric tracking (further down in this post), but I'm very okay with it! That's because we had company, and they're the kind of company we love having. 

Thirteen year-old Austin is a growing boy who easily downed a bowl of ice cream with all the toppings. Both boys had an archery lesson. 

 

We all like playing Rummikub, and nine year-old Luke brought his new turtle stuffy (baby turtle on his head) to the table. 

 

We found lots to do - boccé ball, golf cart driving and riding, Russell Stover's outlet store, Arts and Crafts Festival at the square. It was wonderful having the boys and their mom with us for four days/four nights. 

Since finishing the "Milky Way" Dropcloth Sampler, I've wanted another hand-embroidery project. I remembered that back in 2016 or so, I won Sarah Thomas's @sariditty Instagram giveaway of  her coloring book. All her designs are like quilting graffiti that she calls "sketchbook quilting."

I picked one design, resized it to 125%, and then used my light box to trace the 9" X 12" design onto Aruba Painter's Palette solid. 

I backed and machine edge-stitched it with a piece of white muslin, and began stitching with #8 Wonderfil Eleganza perle cotton. I'm have a great play with this!

Machine and hand quilting my Alternate Route improv quilt is coming along too. 

Keeping up with Weeks and Bill's "Summer Camp Modern Mystery Quiltalong," I completed 20 blocks for Installment 3 before family arrived. 

Installment 4 is 22 blocks (5½" X 5½" unfinished) that are cut and ready to sew. 

As for fabric yardage tracking, June was an okay month. While I came out ahead - using nearly 2½ more yards of fabric than I took in - my 8-yard fabric purchase was unplanned. It was also perhaps a bit unnecessary, but when your favorite place to buy Painter's Palette solids was going out of business - The Quilt Place, Orlando - and all fabric was 40 percent off, it's tough to pass by. I'll do better in July. 

Book Recommendations

When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer is the first book in the "Timeless" series, though I have already been disappointed to learn that the second book isn't available in my library apps. Not yet, anyway.

The story is about time travel, something that has always intrigued me. 

Libby lives in 1774 with her mother and two sisters. Since the death of their husband/father, they're running a print shop and producing the weekly news in Colonial Williamsburg.

A unique birthmark means Libby lives two lives, simultaneously, each night going to bed and awakening in her alternate life in 1914. There she's an elegant, rich, and eligible woman whose cold and calculating mother is determined to see Anna Elizabeth married into class and privilege. Libby's lives couldn't be more different.

By her 21st birthday, she must decide, forever, which period she will live in for the rest of her life. Certain she'll choose 1774 in spite of her foreknowledge of the coming revolution, circumstances in both places are forcing her to reassess.

I recommend reading this because it's a good stand-alone story, even if you're unable to access the second book.   

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

Outside by Ragnar Jonasson takes place during a blizzard in Iceland. Only four characters are in this tale of dark secrets and death. 

Four friends - three fellas and one woman - meet at a hunting lodge, planning to hunt ptarmigan on the moors. As they're hiking and searching for game, a snow storm unexpectedly overwhelms them and they're forced to trod through strong winds, stinging snow, and frigid temperatures to get to a safe hut. There, they encounter something alarming, and makes them realize their dire situation. 

Most of the story isn't about what happens, though that's key, but about each person's past behaviors. The book is more about inter-relationships than what ensues on the moor. The brooding darkness of this story kept me from liking it very much. 

Linda's score: 3.7/5.0

Northern Spy by Flynn Berry follows Tessa, a newly-divorced mother of months-old Finn. Tessa works for the BBC in Belfast, Ireland. She and her sister Marian are very close, so when Tessa sees Marian on TV, involved in an IRA hold-up, she's sure Marian has been taken and is acting against her will.

While exchanging information with a detective in the local police, Tessa comes to realize that Marian is into the IRA more deeply than she or her mother realized. Yet Tessa can't believe she's mis-read Marian for so many years. 

When Marian approaches Tessa with a proposal, Tessa has to think of Finn and what it would mean to herself and her family if she agrees to help.

It was interesting to learn about activities in the IRA, and - if this is based on truth - how cruel and subversive the IRA can be. 

Linda's score: 3.9/5.0

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant follows Cooper and Finch, a father and his eight year-old daughter who live in a cabin located in a remote part of the Appalachian Mountains. Though Cooper is always on alert, they have both found contentment in their isolation, until... 

Dependent on an annual December 14 delivery of food and necessities from their friend Jake that augments what he and Finch can collect (fruit from a small orchard, berries in a nearby privet, and game they hunt with bows and arrows) when Jake doesn't come, Cooper is forced to leave the property to buy supplies.

Soon afterward, several unexpected visitors change their silent woods into a place that could lead to exposure, and the consequences of what Cooper has done. 

I appreciated the isolation and beauty of this environment, and the underlying theme that reminds me of the goodness within people. 

 

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

Have a happy Independence Day, my friends!

Patriotic Pinwheel

If you like this 24½" X 24½" design, go here to get my free Patriotic Pinwheel instructions. Linda

Back Home from Texas

We're home again after a week away. This time we drove to/from Austin, Texas to visit family, and spend time with our other two grandsons: Austin (age 12) and Luke (age 8). These are the boys who gave me the "My Nana" paper (see previous blog post), and think I'm either 78 or 87 years old! 😂

They aren't much for posing for picture-taking, but I managed to catch them enjoying each other's company in the community swimming pool. 

It was so nice to spend time with them... take them to school, play UNO and Jenga, watch movies, read aloud to them (The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis) and cuddle a little.

With so much seat time in the car, I needed to work on something. This trip, I knitted five dishcloths, four of which I left in Austin. Two of them were knitted with this new-to-me "Scrub Off" Sugar 'n Cream yarn I picked it up while at Joann's a few weeks ago. It's interesting stuff. 

In between yardage of regular soft cotton yarn is this rough texture that proved a little tricky to knit. It will be interesting to see how it cleans up dishes and countertops. 

Joining medallions and X's for my Prudence Quilt began while on the road. I managed only to complete the first row, and most of the second. This will be a long-term effort!

Now it's back to my Kantha quilt for the Alison Glass Stitch Club Kantha Sew Along. I've finished table-basting columns (75" top to bottom) about 5" to 6" apart. Working on my lap, I will next stitch a column in between these columns, and continue similarly to make dense stitches. I'm looking forward to this relaxing evening activity. 

Book Recommendations

The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe is a book that's difficult to explain and score. The writing style seemed different than I'm accustomed to, yet I can't put my finger on why it didn't "feel" normal. 

The story is about Becky Farwell from Pierson, Illinois who grows up without money. After high school, she goes to work at city hall. Her innate talent with math helps her excel at managing the city's finances. When she accidentally comes across an art exhibition, and a piece that she must own, she figures out how to acquire the money to buy it. And thus begins Becky's double life as a small-town girl, and Reba Farwell, art investor. 

She lives on the edge, so I kept expecting a crisis, but her story continues over decades, until...     

Linda's score: 3.6/5.0

The book When We Meet Again by Kristin Harmel is about Emily who's living in Orlando. Her life is solitary, and full of regrets... that her father left her and her mother; that she left her high school sweetheart; that her mother died; that her grandmother died; and that she's lost her magazine writing job. 

When a painting unexpectedly arrives with a cryptic note, and the girl in the painting looks exactly like Emily's grandmother when she was young, Emily determines to learn who sent it - and who painted it! She reaches out to her father, and together, they travel to Germany, Savannah, and Atlanta learning bits of an unimaginable story as they go. A wartime romance between an American girl and a German P.O.W.

What I liked about this book was the historical information I learned about Florida! During WWII, German P.O.W.s were put to work on Florida farms, harvesting vegetables and sugar cane. Readers get an inside look at life spent working in humid, swampy conditions.

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

I've missed reading blogs, so if you haven't received a comment from me for a while, know that I plan a good catch-up this weekend! Linda

A Mixed Bag

A “mixed bag” is what I received last week! A bag of Aurifil 50-weight thread, and a tube of five Bernina bobbins (on the left) from my local quilt shop, Sew Together!

I was given these as a thank you for recommending to a friend to purchase a Bernina Q20 (mid-arm quilting machine) from that shop. She had received a quote from a different place, and I suggested she check nearer to home. When Sew Together beat the price she was quoted, the deal closed, and I was invited to stop in for a thank-you gift. That was in February. A gift for a referral was the last thing I expected, imagining I'd get a ballpoint pen and notepad, so I didn't take time to stop by. A reminder phone call that my gift awaited, prompted me to visit. When the bag was handed to me, all I could say was... 

That's 58 spools of Aurifil! Thank you Al and Peter at Sew Together/Sharky's Vac 'n Sew!

Making progress on the Alison Glass Stitch Club Kantha Sew Along, I finished stitching words from Proverbs 15:13 - A glad heart makes a happy face. I'm pleased with how the lettering turned out. 

I layered the quilt top and backing, without batting, per Alison’s tutorial. However, when I saw big sections of shadowing (a dark blue patch on the back showing through yellow fabric on the front) I quickly decided I needed something between the layers. Two yards of 108”-wide white flannel, from Joann’s, was the right solution. Before layering, I washed the flannel in warm water to make sure it shrunk. 

Now I’m baste-stitching. I raised my IKEA Finnvard trestles so the table top is high enough that I don’t need to lean far over while hand stitching.

It’s slow-going to hand stitch the 75” length about eight times (at 5” to 6” intervals) but after I do, I’ll be able to remove it from the table to complete the stitching in my lap. 

Masking tape is my guide for stitching fairly straight lines.

After completing the last X blocks for my Prudence Quilt, I finally have all 121 units EPPed and ready to join together.

I think the layout looks mushy and too busy, but such is the nature of making a quilt from scraps. It will be months until the top is pieced together.  

I started this project in July 2019, after winning, on Instagram, the pattern, templates, and paper pieces from Sharon Burgess of Lilabelle Lane Creations. Though I also won a fat quarter bundle of Liberty fabrics, I don't care for Liberty fabrics so they didn't make an appearance in the quilt. 

And... from Curated Quilts blog, I was surprised to see my 2019 Temperature Quilt again being featured. The entire article can be read here: It's Getting Hot in Here: Temperature Quilts from QuiltCon 2022

Curated Quilts photographed my quilt at QuiltCon. It's nice to have it mentioned again.

Book Recommendation

The Maid by Nita Prose is a captivating book about Molly, a maid who works at a swank hotel. Fairly quickly, you learn that Molly is special, not only for her dedication to cleanliness (a trait I admire), but also for her quirkiness and tendency to misread expressions and  emotions. When Molly enters a finance magnate’s suite, to “return it to a state of perfection,” and discovers his body, her simple life takes a big turn. Because of her honest and innocent nature, she unwittingly makes herself suspect. She must depend on friends to get her through this, but who are her friends? Without her gran to guide her, Molly must figure out who to trust. 

Linda's score: 4.1/5.0

Now that we have two golf carts, I get to toodle to and from all my activities enjoying the fresh air and sunshine at 20 mph. Flowers near the round about are looking especially pretty and colorful (the real heat of Florida summer hasn't yet kicked in), so I pulled over to take this picture.

For Mother's Day, Dan made my favorite, delicious, albeit most-expensive-to-make "white pizza” - a scratch crust, my homemade pesto, zucchini, fresh mushrooms, and brie ($14.99 for a wheel!). I chatted with both of our children, and our Texas grandsons who shared a picture of what Austin (age 12) and Luke (age 8) think of their Nana. 

They couldn't agree on my age (I'm 69), with Luke suggesting I am 87 and Austin, 78. It's a good thing I love them! 😂 

They like my cookies, and "driving the golf cart around," but the real honor is in the last statement: "I love my nana more than 'video games.'" Wow! Now that's truly something! Linda

Life is So Full

A week spent traveling and visiting family in Kansas City, as well as going to Gainesville to give a "What is Modern Quilting?" program to members of Gainesville MQG, has kept me out of the sewing room. In between times, and while riding in the car, I managed to make progress on a few things.

Car time was spent finishing up these 18 EPP X-blocks for my Prudence quilt. Now to lay out and arrange all the medallions and X's. 

 

This was the view out the car window while going through Kentucky, near Paducah. (No time to stop for the AQS show that was going on. 😞) All that yellow is blooming canola which we saw in numerous fields in that area. So pretty!

I had the chance to spend time with two of our four grandsons, attending soccer games, taekwondo, and a fifth grade school musical. Tay is 12 and plays soccer. 

Aesa is 11, just earned a blue belt in taekwondo, and was the production manager for the fifth grade performance of an original musical. 

On three occasions, I visited my 92 year-old Dad at his apartment - helped clean out a storage closet, and took him to buy new shoes - while spending time with our daughter, my sister, and a brief visit with my nephew at his store (Olathe Pet Shop). It was great seeing everyone!

As soon as I returned home, I prepared for my program and trunk show with members of Gainesville MQG. They may be a small chapter, but their interest in modern is huge! I was glad to be able to pull out and revisit modern quilts I made eight/nine/ten years ago.

Since the Gainesville meeting was in the evening, my friend Rosemary traveled with me. It was so nice to chat with her coming and going on the 80 minute (each way) car drive. Thanks Rosemary!

Being away prevented me from keeping up with the Alison Glass Stitch Club Kantha Sew Along, but I've made big steps toward catching up. Week two was to add hand-embroidered words/lettering, if desired. Well, "I desired," but spent way too long coming up with what I wanted to say! 

I finally arrived on Proverbs 15:13a: A glad heart makes a happy face. 

I'm paraphrasing it as: glad heart. happy face.

Using Alison's video tutorial, I hand-drew the letters onto the yellow linen part of the backing. As a template, I used a 1¾" steel ring from a set of Applipops, and drew around them with a fine Sewline pen.

Letters are stitched with a double strand of Wonderfil Eleganza, size 8, using a chain stitch. 

Once the lettering is complete, it's time to put together the front and back, and begin stitching. I'm looking forward to that! 

Thanks to a friend, Sherry, in South Florida MQG chapter, I learned about a new Bible that sounded worth owning. Since we don't have any Christian book stores in our area, when I was in Kansas City, I sought out a Christian store and was happy to find Mardel Christian Bookstore (owned by Hobby Lobby). There I found exactly what I was looking for - a large print, red letter (Jesus's words in red) Filament Bible in NLT (New Living Translation), and a new Bible cover.

 

What's special about a Filament Bible is that you can download, for free, the Filament app. When you open the app, take a picture of the tiny logo/page number at the top of each page.

Then, a whole bunch of information is at your fingertips! Just tap to study, reflect, or see/hear videos and worship music! I love it!

I'm really excited about using this Bible. I chose the NLT version because it's what's read at Lutheran Church of Hope (West Des Moines, Iowa). My previous Bible is NIV (New International Version). Oh! And while in Kansas City I worshipped, in-person, at Lutheran Church of Hope's satellite location in Shawnee. Loved that too!

We finally got our new golf cart! We ordered it November 15, and delivery was April 25, even later than anticipated. Turns out, our cart (as well of those of dozens and dozens of other customers like us) was assembled and only waiting for a turn signal handle! Yep, production of that small part, coming from China, prevented earlier delivery.  Just another incidence of supply chain problems since the pandemic. 

Hubs and I have shared one golf cart since moving here in 2013, so keeping the old golf cart (with 33,700+ miles on it!) means we each have a cart to use if we happen to be away at the same time. Yay!

Book Recommendation

I've been excited to share this book with you because it's one of the best books I've listened to in months! Definitely my best read, so far, in 2022. 

The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle is the debut title from this author who lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

The story is about Summer and Iris, identical twin sisters from Australia, who take a long sailing yacht trip together from Thailand to the Seychelles. During the voyage, Iris reflects on her relationship with Summer, the twin who seems to have it all - good fortune; a gorgeous, doting husband Adam; a young son from Adam's previous marriage - while Iris is trying to pull her life back together from a failed marriage to Noah. 

On the voyage, Summer goes missing, and after searching for her, Iris fumbles her way alone to the Seychelles, where she's swept up in Adam's arms and concerns. He thinks she's Summer. As Iris wrestles about "the right thing to do," she becomes more embroiled in her lies.

I can't get this book out of my mind, which to me, is a sign of a great story. I hope Rose Carlyle keeps writing!

Linda's score: 4.6/5.0

Linda