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The latest collaborative donation baby quilt from Joanne and me. Piecing by Joanne, quilting by me. The pink border goes all the way around, there is a tiny navy binding. Joanne put a lot of work into the piecing at her house in Maine.
There is another Joanne quilt waiting to be quilted, totally different from this one.
Son-in-law Mike has determined that the strange car noise is coming from the air conditioner compressor. I should be fine to drive the car as long as I don't run the ac. It may not be an inexpensive fix, but I'm glad it isn't an even bigger one.
The hydrangeas are having an excellent year. Thanks, Sarah, for recommending them. And planting them.
I am thinking of that long ago country song. "As the door behind me closes, it's been a good year for the roses." A love gone sad. At least the roses are nice.
I had lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in way too long. She suggested a Lebanese restaurant that I didn't know existed despite driving by its strip mall again and again. I filled up on veggies and pita and the silkiest humus and baba gannouj. I brought my salad home for tomorrow, chopped greens and quinoa and lots of other stuff. (Aladdin's for my Cincinnati friends, definitely recommend.)
My car is making a strange sound and son-in-law Mike is going to drive it tomorrow and listen. He is so good at knowing about things like that and I am . . . not.
I am happy to have finally finished a baby quilt.
Pieced backing.
And because baby quilt group met just three days ago, I have a month to enjoy it hanging in my office. Happy again.
The family of a woman who had quite a fabric collection donated the fabric to groups who do donation quilting. A couple of members of my group went to select some for us. They brought back lots for us to choose from, really nice fabrics. I tried to pick things that would go together. And I tried to honor that woman I never met.
Thanks to Joanne for the Yellow Brick Road pattern. It's my favorite.
Aaron at a Florence Freedom game. Florence Freedom games are relaxed and up close and personal. Free parking up close. Excellent chance for kids to catch foul balls. Concessions close enough that kids can get a snack by themselves and still be in sight range.
Yesterday I took Aaron for a baseball lesson. Fastball pitching and hitting. The rec season may be over but the learning goes on. And in the evening, he had football conditioning. It's a hot week, highs in the 90's all week.
My grands are growing up and we haven't had the summer outings like we used to. Plus, they now have a pool of their own. And so, I treasure taking them to their various lessons.
I have been fusing tee shirts for a quilt. So many tee shirts. I watched a class on Bluprint and it's been very helpful in knowing what sizes to cut out. There will be less math involved in the piecing than in previous quilts when I cut out pieces randomly. I try to cut and fuse three or four every day. Most likely there will be tees on both the front and back. Strips of fabric to set them off. By the way, the silky dry-fit tees and sweatshirts can also be used.
Rain in the early morning so no need to water today. I am trying to do something every day that I've been putting off. Yesterday, several boxes to Goodwill. Today, I want to work on the sliding lock on my kitchen door. I haven't been in the back yard in weeks.
This little camper zipper bag design is from Anita Goodesign. I love little zipper bags and this one is really cute. If you have an embroidery machine and decide to try it out, don't do what I did - remember that the camper tire is on the edge of the design and leave extra on the bottom for the seam allowance. I had to resew along the bottom. Next time I'll get it right. It's cute enough that there will be a next time.
Also remember that if you're not sure what will stitch next, use the stitch ahead feature and watch the cursor. Then reset the stitch count to zero.
Last night I went to Aaron's last baseball game for the year, where they won their tournament, and next week football practice starts. Just like that. Now there is conversation about new cleats and what to wear for the first week of practice.
A neighbor took this picture of the little bear walking across Sarah and Winnie's front yard. In the daytime, no less. They live in North Carolina in a well-populated but fairly rural area not far from town.
It's been very hot, with poor air quality. Last night I was inside reading, getting updates from Aaron's baseball game, when it suddenly started raining hard and unexpectedly. So, no watering today. I'm not an everyday waterer, I try to get by with minimum watering, encouraging those plants to grow some deep roots.
Yesterday was the first day that I actually sat down at the sewing space I'd set up in my bedroom, where it's cool. I found that I actually liked it, very pleasant, and I didn't mind running up and down stairs for various things. I got a good start on some sewing jobs.
If only. If only I procrastinated less. That's my "if only." Of course, I have others too, but that's the big one. (Thinking about those sewing jobs reminded me of this.)
And so, thinking of mid-year goals, this is my big thing to work on.
It was a happy July 4. These neighborhood kids don't usually hang out a lot, but they enjoy the tradition of being together on the 4th.
I always have vague plans of just relaxing on a holiday but always end up doing my tasks. Which is ok. I'm glad I can do them. Last July 4 I had pneumonia and the day passed in a blur. This was so much better.
One of my goals for the year was to make a Christmas tree skirt, and yesterday I found an Anita Goodesign pattern that I really liked. And so, I pressed the button. Actually, there are several possibilities. A couple of stitching only, one is heavily appliqued. We will see. The stitching-only ones could have pretty Christmas fabric for the backing.
Those Cincinnati Reds! Three and a half games out of first place. But still in the basement of their division. Very unusual. Today is a day off for them, so it will be fun to just see what the other teams do. For the first time in a few years, baseball is exciting around here.
