Honoring Dad

On Friday, April 10, 16 family members gathered to inter the cremains of Dad who passed away November 5, 2025 at the age 95.

Though we miss him terribly, we are at peace because we know he was ready to go and be reunited with our Mother who died 23 years ago. 

Each of us was touched by the beautiful military ceremony for Dad who was a Marine Corps veteran. Two Marines solemnly unfurled an American flag and remained at attention while a bugler played taps, followed by an honor guard firing three rifles.

The flag was carefully refolded and presented to my brother with a folder and document from the US government signed by our president.

My brother was also presented with a small sack containing nine shell casings that represent "duty, honor, and country."  

Now, at Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas, Mother and Dad are together again, and united with our Lord Jesus Christ through the resurrection of the dead.

Leavenworth is a lovely, peaceful cemetery. The stone building at the top of the hill plays carillon music, among the tunes being the Marines' hymn.  

The best part of the five-day trip was spending time with family, including our two teenaged grandsons. If you've been reading my blog for a number of years, you've seen each of these boys, Tay and Aesa, when they were newborns - Tay born in Australia; Aesa born in Kansas City. They're very handsome young men now. 💕

I spent a good portion of 40 hours of car time hand-piecing, and hand-appliquing.

Two more columns of hand-pieced Inner City blocks are now joined. 

I also made a good start on Jo Avery's "Dream Flower Posy Hoop Wallhanging" pattern from the February/March issue of Homespun magazine (Australia publication found in my digital public library's Cloud Library app). 

Jo's design @joaverystitch is on the left, a screen shot from Instagram. Mine is on the right. I'm appliquing Fableism and gradated cottons to a linen background. 

I think Dad would appreciate this blog post. He was a loyal blog follower/reader, and when we talked every week would often comment about something I'd posted. I'm glad you're where you wanted to be, Dad. It was good to be with family; it's good to be home again. Linda

Making While in KC

From September 28 to October 9, I was in Kansas City. I stayed with our daughter, and gave almost full-time attention to my dad who was in a rehab center. I'm glad to say my two siblings, BIL, and I were able to return Dad to assisted living last week.

Being away without a computer made it difficult to write a blog post, or read and comment on blogs I follow. I'll correct that this weekend.

Before leaving, and anticipating down time with Dad and evening TV time with family, I determined I'd travel with several projects. One of them was my Inner City hand-piecing project.

I arranged all the blocks I've pieced on the design wall, positioning darker value blocks along the perimeter with a swath of lighter colored blocks through the center. You might notice I used prints for some of the inside blocks. I have filled-in that one missing block. 

Then I carefully removed several columns of blocks, marking their position so I could begin hand-piecing. The little I accomplished was done mostly while sitting at a Southwest Airlines gate. Only most of the first two columns are joined, but it's a start. 

You might rightly guess that I filled a large suitcase for my 12 day visit. Clothes for two seasons (summer and fall) and yarn took up space and weighed 44 pounds. Yes, each way I had to pay $35 extra to check a bag. 

After much referencing of the "Crochet Lacy Motif Top" instructions and different crochet stitches, I think I've mastered and memorized how to crochet these medallions! I have happily crocheted 34 of the 65 needed for the top.

In the evenings, watching TV with family, I round loom knitted. These two dolls - Tiny Doll (on the left) and Comfort Doll (on the right) - came off my 24-peg loom, and are ready to be donated. I still think they're precious. 

Since I'd used-up my last cone of Sugar and Cream cotton yarn, I bought another one at WalMart in Olathe, Kansas. I knit two dish clothes while there, and gave away both of them - one to Dad's occupational therapist, and the other for my SIL. 

It's good to be at home again to spend time with my sewing machine. First on my list is piecing a backing for the Filmstrip Quilt. 

Needless to say, right now I'm not in Houston, Texas attending the International Quilt Festival. However, a couple friends from Central Florida MQG are there, and kindly shared pictures of Feelin' Groovy, my maximalist quilt that's in the exhibit Modern Quilts: A Twist on Tradition. 

I specifically asked these friends to take a picture of Feelin' Groovy with its neighbor. That's Christa Watson's @christaquilts quilt to the left of mine. 

Also, the International Quilt Festival posted pictures of Feelin' Groovy to Facebook (I'm not on Facebook) and Instagram. I've enjoyed reading the comments, including "Is there a pattern?" Ha, ha. No way. 

While in Kansas City, I made two large batches of salsa using a couple hundred (I'm not kidding!) grape tomatoes from our daughter's one tomato plant. With two teenaged boys, salsa didn't last long!

Today we went to farmer's market and bought Tennessee tomatoes (the ones grown in Florida are not good) so I could make salsa one more time, also using most of a banana pepper, green onions, cilantro, and the juice of two fresh-squeezed limes. I discovered that dipping salsa with Tostitos Crispy Rounds is the perfect yummy combo.  

Linda

Among Other Things, QuiltCon Prep

I don't know how a week managed to get away from me, but it sure did! I've had my eyes on the looming date of Quiltcon, figuring out which projects to can get organized, and which ones I can make a little progress on.

A paint chip quilt challenge, organized by Big Cypress Quilters, a chapter of Quilting Guild of The Villages is due April 15. After selecting two paint chip cards (no swapping allowed) we can make anything we want. I wasn't overly pleased with my color combination, but I'm giving it a go anyway. 

My inspiration was this design, found online when I Googled "mid-century modern." I like the deep, narrow curves. But how to create those echoing shapes on a quilt is challenging. That's the point, isn't it? 

I weighed my options - piece those narrow curves? Impossible. Or make bias tape to appliqué by machine or by hand?

I decided to go with Misty Fuse appliqué. I'll apply two to three layers of Misty Fuse to the back of fabric, cut the skinny curves, and then fuse those curves to a background. To prepare, I've drawn (erased, re-drawn, erased and re-drawn) deep curves on a piece of freezer paper. 

I'll wait to being fusing. I'll tackle this approximately 62" X 72", attention-consuming project until after QuiltCon. My design wall will wait. 

I've progressed on quilting Party Time! The 43" square improv-pieced center is filled with half-inch wide straight-line triangles.

Now I'm free motion quilting every confetti dot on the four 13-wide sides, and giving each corner some custom-quilting. The top thread color matches each fabric, so I've had a few thread color changes. All are 50-weight Aurifil.  

In random places, I'm taping a square of masking tape (on the right) to the quilt top, and quilting around it twice to make ghost "confetti" (left).

When not quilting, I'm making Inner City blocks. Mostly from my shoeboxes of solid scraps (I've gotten into stash to give me a few more color combinations) I've cut out more shapes to continue hand-piecing. This little stack, to be added to the other big pile, means I've now made more than 100 blocks - 100+ more needed.

I will take this 5" X 7" pouch of supplies along to QuiltCon, for airport and down-time piecing. 

I've been distracted by Instagram this week, looking at quilters' posts about past QuiltCons, the quilts they've had in those shows, and sharing my own quilts. I was surprised to count and realize I've had a total of 17 quilts appear in 8 QuiltCons. None have earned an award. I think I'm understanding a little of how Susan Lucci felt for so many years.

😊 Are you familiar with my reference to her? 🤣

I've also arranged a few QuiltCon meet-ups with people I see only at this (extremely social) event, and have dinner plans for two evenings. Also, I'm part of two group quilts. Photos will be taken alongside quilts made by: 1) Central Florida MQG members, for the QuiltCon Charity Challenge; and, 2) 16 of us who made Pot Luck. Of the 16 of us, 8 will attend QuiltCon.

Saturday afternoon and evening I'll be taking my six hour QuiltCon workshop - Chaos With a Twist with Libs Elliott (90 minute break for dinner). Lib's supply list includes colored pencils, a couple rulers, rotary tools, and fabric - 8 to 12 fat quarters. Having at least a yard of all these colors, and not wanting to chop yardage into fat quarters, I selected and cut eight half-yard pieces to take along. I'm documenting them here, for future reference because...

...you know I won't be satisfied making a small quilt! I'll return home to make it bigger.

Speaking of "bigger," have you noticed that I enlarged the font on these blog posts? My vision has gotten worse in the past year. Bigger is better. This past week, I finally saw (ha, ha) an ophthalmologist (after cancelling my January appointment due to contracting COVID). I learned that my eyeglass prescription is incorrect. And - not really a surprise - I am a candidate for cataract surgery. For months, I've been seeing a glare when in bright sunshine, and in buildings with overhead lights. An April consultation is when I'll learn more about the procedure. Honestly though, many of my friends have already gone through this, so I have an insider's understanding as to what happens, and what can be problematic. I began wearing glasses in third grade, then wore contacts for 48 years, and then returned to glasses for the past eight years. I am looking forward to experiencing what it's like to not needing vision correction, except in particular situations. Happy days ahead!

Happy QuiltCon ahead! 😄 Linda

End of December/End of Year

Fabric tracking has been all consuming through 2024 as I'm aiming to use all my stash by 2033. You might ask why I picked that year.

I've selected 2033 as the year I'll officially be really old - I may no longer have dexterous use of my hands, or I could have poor(er) eyesight. The year may seem arbitrary but having a goal keeps me focused on my sewing room priority - to USE UP! 

In December I had numerous small makes that I'll share as soon as all gifts are given. But I can feel pleased with December numbers: 9.83 yards used, mostly due to quilt finishes as I pieced quilt backs, and made binding and quilt labels.

I also cut and hand-pieced 49 Inner City blocks. This makes me happy to look at! The colors! And using solid scraps!

The half-yard of incoming fabric was unexpected - a Christmas present from my St. Augustine friend, Candi. She's such an enabler thoughtful friend! Her card said:

"Sorry for adding to your stash but I needed to reduce mine. 😊 "

This is Kona 2024 Color of the Year - Julep - the only fabric that came into my sewing room in December. (Gee thanks, Candi! 😏)

The big Ta-Dah (for me) is the total amount of fabric used in 2024. That number is 112.55 yards! Adding back incoming yardage that totalled 23.67 yards, and my net output was 88.88 yards. Not too bad. 

Actually I'm thrilled! I will be fabric tracking again in 2025, my third year of doing so. 

Looking ahead to 2025, I'm focusing on finishing a couple of WIPs, the first being my 100-Day Challenge/Quilt Your Life. The 151 blocks I made during those 100 days have been around since September. The problem is I can't figure out how to arrange them in a cohesive quilt design. 

I tried grouping them.

I tried a chronological order of my 100 days of activities. What a mish-mash!

I tried a sort of diagonal layout. None of these are right. 

I'll keep moving them around, but I'm thinking I might add something to blocks that are problematic, like those aqua "book blocks" in the upper right corner.

Also, I haven't given up on the idea of including these one-inch curvelets in the design, especially because: 1) I began making them during the 100 Days; and 2) they aren't designated for anything else. 

I foresee lots of happy sewing room activities in the year ahead. Hopefully you'll be making along with me, and let me know what you're up to.

As I reflect on a year of blogging - 71 blog posts - my heart is bursting with gratitude for those of you who read and comment. It's your comments that keep me going, knowing I'm reaching you. Then, the most enjoyable part is replying to your comments and questions. Thank you for engaging! 

I'm wishing everyone a wonderful 2025! Linda

Into December

My absence for the past 11 days was due mostly to being away... driving to and from Texas to visit our Austin family. As always, it was nice to see them in person, and spend time just catching up. I was able to read aloud to 10 year-old Luke the book  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. It's a wonderful Christmas story for children ages 8 and up.

We took along a few of our unused Christmas decorations to help make their home festive.

Always, a must-stop was Salt Lick in Driftwood, my favorite place for Texas barbecue. Pulled pork and banana bread pudding for me. Surprisingly, it was quite chilly (and rainy) in Austin, so this open pit provided welcome warmth.

En route, we passed numerous Buc-ee's, the most amazing and largest gas stations in the world.

If you're in the US and haven't yet visited a Buc-ee's, it's a must-not-be-missed place! Of course, we came home with Buc-ee's Pecan Pralines, and Praline Pecans - yes, there IS a difference.

Knowing we'd be on the road for at least 33 hours - our travel time ended up being much longer, due to an Interstate 10 accident that had us "parked" for more than an hour - I needed a hand project. I looked through my few hand work WIPs and determined they were too large or cumbersome, or too tedious for working on in the car. My almost last-minute decision was to begin a new project!

Digging through a box of notions, I came across this template -a Half Hexagon to make "Inner City" units. 

I remember making this purchase in the late 1990s, while at an American Quilter's Society spring show in Paducah. I'm glad I hung onto it. 

From scrap bins of solids, I cut out half hexagons - three values of one color. Then I grabbed a ring of Superior thread bobbins won in a giveaway, a needle, and scissors, and I had a delightful hand piecing project for passenger time. When I got home, I was anxious to press the 23 blocks I'd pieced, to see how they looked together. I'm gonna love this!

It's the precision that makes this a satisfying hand piecing project. On the back, just look at that pretty Y-seam twirl!

I have a question... do you have a suggestion for the "perfect" marking tool to use with this template?

The template slots are very narrow and very deep, so it was difficult to make a number two pencil work. The lead kept breaking. (You can see the pencil lead rubbings along the slots.) 

The same thing happened with a mechanical pencil. I had to extend the lead so far - for the depth of the slot - that the skinny lead tip repeatedly broke. I need something with a long, skinny end. Ideas? 

Book Recommendations

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez is about Josh, a ruggedly handsome firefighter who's just relocated to town because his Marine Corps buddy, Brandon, is getting married; Josh is his best man. Brandon is marrying Sloane who's best friend is Kristen; Kristen is maid of honor. 

Josh and Kristen meet, and their attraction is undeniable. But Kristen won't allow herself to fall for Josh. Kristen, who runs an online pet supply business, needs someone to build custom dog stairs, so Josh begins working for her, out of her garage. She does everything to resist him, including wearing hair curlers. Her longterm boyfriend will soon be returning home from military duty, so she and Josh must remain friends. But when things change with Kristen's boyfriend, she lets herself go. Friends with benefits is their reality. 

When Josh recognizes the depth of his feelings, Kristen withdraws, refusing to let him get close, nor explain why she's resisting. (I thought this part was repetitively frustrating.)

 

I really wanted to like this book because: 1) several friends liked it; and 2) the plot isn't too bad. But I just couldn't handle the language and casual sex. I guess that's what younger authors and younger readers (than me) are looking for in books. This is book #1 in The Friend Zone series that I will not continue to read.

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

More than two decades ago, Prom Mom (by Laura Lippman) was Amber Glass, a Baltimore high-schooler who gave birth on prom night, and was convicted of killing her baby, though she had no recollection of it. She's now a successful New Orleans art dealer. The prom night "Cad Dad" was Joe Simpson who is now a successful commercial real estate married to a beautiful and skilled plastic surgeon, Meredith.

Amber returns to Baltimore to sell her step-father's tacky house. With her inheritance, she decides to open an art gallery. It's inevitable that she and Joe meet again. Even though they've been able to move past their prom, an attraction remains. Amber is sympathetic towards Joe, and determines to help him any way she can. When the pandemic plays havoc with Joe's investments, and he's dug himself into a corner, relationship-wise, will Amber be able to help in out, as she did with they were in high school?

Linda's score: 4.1/5.0

QuiltCon Quilt Submissions

As many of you already know, last Wednesday, December 4, QuiltCon sent congratulations/rejection emails for every quilt that had been submitted to QuiltCon 2025 - Phoenix. My three emails arrived while we were on the road to Texas.

I received two "congratulations!" for which I am extremely grateful.

Acceptances were Benched, my entry in the Transparency Challenge, and Pot Luck the group/bee quilt I put together using blocks made by 15 improv-making/hand-quilting friends, five of whom are local makers. 

My one "we're sorry" email was for Infrastructure, a quilt I started in a minimalism workshop at QuiltCon 2024, and finished in a NOT minimalism style. 

QuiltCon received 2,269 entries, and accepted 460 quilt for the show - a 20% acceptance rate. I let out a big "whew!" when I learned two got in. I'm looking forward to going to my eighth QuiltCon, and meeting-up with quilter-friends. I'm registered for one all day workshop with Libs Elliott of Canada. I plan to get together as many Pot Luck makers as possible. for a group picture. 

In other last week's new was the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year (COTY), for 2025. Mocha Mousse. All I can say is "ICK!" Friends who know me aren't surprised by my "ick."

I've heard a couple people mention how much the color is like the coffee-colored pantyhose we used to wear. Anyone else besides me remember L'Eggs? 

You will not find me participating in any quilt challenges that use Moche Mousse. No ifs, ands, or buts.

I have felt this way about brown in quilts since I made Bars in 2017. I began Bars in a QuiltCon color workshop with Tara Faughnan who told us, "It's okay to have an 'ick' color." 

This is the back of Bars.

Thankfully, the Kaufman Kona COTY, Nocturn, is more tolerable. 

Linda