In My Planner

 

The birds were from a lunch invitation from the Taft Museum of Art.  The lunch is called Modernism on the Menu.

I'm not going to the lunch, but I loved the birds and cut out the picture for my planner.

The exhibittion will be called Edie McKee Haarper:  Modernism at Play.  And that I will go to.  

The museum is in Cincinnati, and is practically in my back yard. 

I Like This

 
Yesterday several people mentioned that it was just three months until Christmas.  While that's true, we have Halloween coming first.

I love the fall and Halloween decorating that's happening, both inside and outside.  I'm definitely getting $5 worth of enjoyment from this small indoor decoration that lights up in late afternoon and turns off again before bedtime.  Really it's just a single white ghose inside a glass globe, no yellow reflecion, and there's only one.

Soon, I'll have pumpkins and mums outside.  Already there are tiny quilts here and there inside the house.

Some people go all out, and I like their efforts.   Lights and skeletons and any number of other things.

My feeling is that it's a long time between Easter and Halloween and people just want to celebrate something light-hearted.

Waiting

 Things are quiet here this morning.  Concrete pour was scheduled for 9:00 but was postponed until tomorrow because it may rain today.  It certainly does look like it will.

I won't be surprised if s the pour is postponed again tomorrow, there's a 50% chance of rain then.  It's ok, we're close to the end.

The drain part of the project worked out better than anyone expected.  The trap part at the beginning was packed tight with mud, no surprise there.  But the clay tiles under the driveway were clear and unbroken.  No sump pump or repair needed there.  And now there is a long trench drain

Sometimes I need to stop and think that the biggest reason for starting all this was the drain repair.  The rest needed to be done too but I could have put it off a little longer and probably might have. 

 That procrastination thing.

Christmas Wall Hanging

 When I was putting together last year's Moda Blockheads, I left out this large block.  I liked how the quilt looked without it.  Last week some red sashings turned it into a 25" wall hanging or table topper.  

I don't remember where I got the red sashings and backing.  It was a large piece of batik with Christmas designs.  There was also a large piece of green batik that I used for the binding.

It isn't the kind of fabric I might usually buy these days, so I'm guessing that I got it at my neighborhood Hancock Fabrics, back when there was such a thing.  Their Christmas farics would be half off after Christmas.

I was spoiled by that store.  Five minutes from home.  Any sewing notion that you could want, even buttons, even quilting notions, and they were half off on holidays.  The good thread, including serger thread.  And a huge selection of fabrics and trim.

It was a sad day when it closed.  

Not Much Left

 Sidewalk gone, steps by the street gone.  Next week, weather permitting, it will start going back together.

This weekend, I'm enjoying the quiet, no jack hammer, no excavator.  Just quiet.

No chunks of concrete or dirt hitting that huge sturdy trailer.  Just quiet.

Just for fun, there were two giant sanitation trucks woking just up the street too.  Different project.  Not noisy, at least I don't think so.

Football Church Banner

 

The church pastor started a four-part series today with football analogies.  And last night I got started on the banner to coordinate with the series.  "Getting started" was pressing the green fabric and adding the stripes.

This morning I got up early and added the football.

The white stripes are just basted on since I'm sure I'll at some point  take them off and use the green fabric for someting else.  The football is stitched too but also fused with Wonder Under.  I'm hoping it will pull off.

I kind of like that football.

I usually email a friend in a nursing home by 9:00 am.  This morning I just didn't have the time, so I sent her a picture of the banner on the ironing board and a brief explanation.  

She emailed back saying, "That's nice, but it's a mess."  It just needed 30 more minutes.

From the Bag

 An older friend who is no longer sewing gave me a small bag of fabrics she hadn't used.  Included in that bag was a charm pack of fall fabrics, along with a little card with a table runner pattern.

This week I made her project and later today I'll take it to her.  As you might expect from a pattern printed on a little card, it went together quickly.  

I like it because it used all the fabrics in the charm pack.  The pieces left over are duplicates.  Part of the fun of a charm pack is getting to enjoy all those 5" fabrics.

I did buy the background fabric with the tiny acorns and pumpkins, but I found the gold binding fabric in my ridiculously large stash.  I considered, but only for a moment, of seeing how long I can go without buying any fabric.

It would be a good goal, but sometimes, like with this background fabric, the right piece just isn't in my house.