Last RSC & WOOFA

This being the last Saturday of July, I'm sure Angela, our fearless RSC leader, will be announcing our color for August. According to my fellow RSC bloggers, it will either be orange or turquoise. I'm good with either of those colors and will be happy with either choice!

Just did a check on the Lotus blocks. Oops! Didn't make a dark blue version so the design floor looks this for the time being.

The Irish Courthouse Steps still need one more dark blue block. Guess I'll do that one at the same time as the  Lotus Flower block. I think these are looking pretty good so far.

As for the July WOOFA (Working On Or Finishing A ....), I was going to really get a move on the Mini Wool Christmas project. It needed to be quilted & bound & labeled. I managed to get it pin basted and quilted. The binding has been chosen and is being prepared. Here's the project as it stands right now.

Wasn't that the perfect backing fabric? This was a really fun project from two years ago, I believe. At that time, my friend Katie & I decided to (sort of) make it together. We would push each other to the finish. I think she still has the borders to embroider and then piece the whole thing together. We decided it wasn't a race but we each wanted to be done by this December. Mine was on my 2021 UFO Challenge List with my LQS. It's due August 10th for show 'n' tell. I've got this!

I also wanted to give a good push to the applique blocks left on Afternoon Delight. There are a total of 40 blocks I think and I was getting down to the last 10 or so, maybe 12? I actually did make good progress this month. This block went from this ...

to this!

I then went on to finish these.

I'm currently working on this one.

And I finished my socks last night!

What a good month I've had. Now if only I had BOTH my machines to sew on. The one I named Roger is still in the shop. Sure hope I hear some good news next week!

Linking up for Rainbow Scrap Challenge with Angela HERE and with Cheryll and my fellow WOOFA quilters HERE!

I Like Thursday #44

Thursdays are always good days for me. I look back on my week for things that made me smile. I'm starting off with my beautiful dinner-plate-sized hibiscus bush. It's finally blooming and pretty. This is how it's seen from my deck. The black-eyed susies are in full bloom and trying to crowd it out. This fall will be some serious transplanting because that corner is SUPPOSED to be reserved for the hibiscus! Ha!

Speaking of the black-eyed susies, here they are around my rain barrels. Neither these plants nor the ones by the hibiscus were planted by me. My guess is the birds scattered their seeds.

A close-up photo from the front side shows a bit of milkweed. I think there are one (million!) too many black-eyed susies around for it to thrive.

In the front under the bird feeders, I got a couple of "volunteer" sunflowers this year. It seems hard for me to believe I would get these because the seed I buy is shelled. I'm happy to see them though. Some years I get a few, sometimes I don't. Now let's hope the raccoons don't pull them down and break the stems as they tend to do some years. (The one in the back looks droopy like me. It's been so hot & HUMID lately here in the Midwest but there is relief once again on the horizon. Grateful for the relief and grateful for A/C as well!)

I've continued with the book I'm reading, "Force of Nature" by Jane Harper. It's really good and I'm wishing my nose was buried in it right this minute! Ha!

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along a muddy track.

Only four come out on the other side.

The hike through the rugged Giralang Ranges is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and encourage teamwork and resilience. At least, that's what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk has a keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing hiker, Alice Russell. Because Alice knew secrets, about the company she worked for and the people she worked with.

The four returning women tell Falk a tale of fear, violence and fractured trust during their days in the remote Australian bushland. And as Falk delves into the disappearance of Alice, he begins to suspect some dangers ran far deeper than anyone knew.

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A very big like this week has got to be Olympic watching! Would you believe, right in the middle of Novak Djokavic's tennis match, we lost our Internet, Cable TV, and phones???? It was gone for a couple of hours. Thankfully I've got a quilting hobby to keep me busy, even when there's no TV! Ha! (Grateful for electricity!) I am especially enjoying the gymnastics, the swimming, and the diving. The badminton, tennis, beach volleyball, and golf have entertained me in between as well. Go, Team USA!!!!

Have a gold-medal winning week!

Linking up with Not Afraid of Color.

Does the R in RSC ....

Does the R in RSC stand for Retreat? This week it did for me. Tuesday through Friday I was away and only took specific projects to work on. First and foremost was Twisted Mystery 2021. I had started a couple of clues but they needed to get caught up.

The center was supposed to be a Lemoyne Star. The final center would actually look like a Lone Star but would actually be a fractured Lemoyne Star using Deb Tucker's ruler. Again I was getting that twist in my stomach about making it. I knew if I didn't come up with something (since I couldn't find my "big girl panties") I'd never get it done. I love Dresden Plates so this is what I came up with for MY center.

I haven't actually sewn the blocks together here. It's up on the design wall. It hadn't been appliqued down yet either but that part was taken care of when I got home. There are a few brown spokes in there so it kind of works for RSC.

Then on to Clue 2.

This picture shows 6 of the 8 to be done. The final two were completed last night too!

And clue 3 needed to be worked on as well.

In between these clues, I worked on another "Boo". I've never found my original after several years so time for a new one.

Still needs to be appliqued down but I did manage to get the border HSTs done. There were 40 of them: 1" finished!!! Oh my poor eyes from squaring those tiny boogers up! I hope to finish BOO this weekend! (I just noticed that the "B" is black and that also works for RSC this month! HA!)

I hope you had a good week too because mine was GREAT! I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrappy to see what everyone else accomplished this week!

I Like Thursday #43

I like retreats and that's where I currently am. I'm writing this ahead of time and scheduling the post for Thursday. So YAY! for retreats!

I also liked this hibiscus bush that is planted in a neighbor's yard. I have one too but mine is the traditional red. These white ones are stunning!

On an impulse (which was driven by my niece Kelli) I bought these two special editions of Oreo cookies. I like Oreos and she told me it's fun to try the different varieties when they come out. That's what she does anyway. Ok, so I bought these two.

These patriotic ones with the pop rocks in the icing were a bit tricky to eat correctly. I decided that you have to remove the lid, scrape some of the icing into your mouth, then let it slowly melt. Keeping the frosting towards the front of your mouth helps too. Let the popping fun begin!

These Salted Caramel Brownie Oreos were delicious. Enough said.

I started reading Stephen King's "If It Bleeds". It's actually four short stories. I'm really enjoying "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" but, in the meantime, Jane Harper's "Force of Nature" has become available from my library wait list. I figure I'll finish the short story and then start the latter. Sometimes when I get on library book lists it doesn't just rain -- it pours!

Hope you had a great week and could spend a some time enjoying the little things.

Linking up with LeeAnna and others with I Like Thurs posts HERE!

Positivity Quilt

My friend Preeti from Sew Preeti Quilts blog invited everyone to sew a Positivity quilt for donation to Mercyful Quilts. These quilts will then be given to patients at Mercy Hospital through her friend Bernie. I've provided links if you'd like more information.

I must say I'm grateful to Preeti for giving us a schedule to follow if we like. I like! I'm better at staying up-to-date with things if I've got a schedule to follow. This week our 48"x64" 60"x80" tops should be finished and mine is!

On the shadowed driveway

You may recall I was having a little trouble with my layout since my backgrounds were scrappy grays. I think this will work!

On the sunny driveway

My plus signs were made from a jelly roll I won at my local quilt shop. I believe it was a door prize when I was shopping online. Anyway, I thought this would be a good use for my pretty 2-1/2" strips!

So pretty on the grass in the dappled sunlight

Preeti gave so many suggestions for how to make our own version of this quilt. The size was specific and we had use the Plus Blocks but assembly was up to us. I'm anxious to see how the other Positivity quilt tops turned out! I'm linking up with Bernie @ Needle and Foot to share mine and to see all the other tops!

Friday Night Sew-In & Rainbow Scrap Challenge

This week I worked on a few different projects. Here's a picture of a pile of scraps turned into Dresden Plate blades. I think they're looking pretty.

I also sewed together another Irish Courthouse block. Now I have three light blue ones and one dark blue one to go and I'll be all caught up again.

Yesterday afternoon, which was evening for my other-side-of-the-world friends, during Friday Night Sew-In I "webbed" the Positivity quilt. I only need to sew the rows together now!

Last night I finished up another Afternoon Delight block. I think I'm in love with this block!

Block #37

A few more rows were also completed on my knitted socks since Clue #3 dropped.

All in all, I'd call it a pretty productive week. I'll be linking up with other RSC quilters at Angela's blog So Scrappy and also with Wendy and my international pals at Sugarlane Designs.

I Like Thursday #42

Hello! Hello! It's time for the gang to share their "likes" of the week. It's a good way to recognize and then appreciate the good things in life.

Tuesday evening I went to guild meeting IN PERSON for the first time since February 2020. I'm grateful for Zoom meetings but it's just not the same as snickering in the back with friends during the business part of the meeting. Haha! The reason I went is because we were having a wonderful guest: Susan Marth from Suzn Quilts was bringing us a trunk show. You may have seen some of her patterns at your local quilt stores. She's "famous" for her small dresden plate templates and oodles of patterns using them. Before she became "famous" for those, she was known for some quilt-as-you-go patterns. You can visit her website HERE and see all the goods. 

My BOO quilt: my favorite pattern by Suzn Quilts
Two small dresdens and a B

Speaking of dresden plates, look at this bounty!

That's a lot of dresden plate blades! I'm making a quilt with a group of women making the same quilt, different fabrics. I got a bit scared of the center and was afraid I'd never jump off & start this project. In the meantime I found a pattern with dresden plates that I shrank down to size and it will be my center. It takes 80 blades. I'm comfortable doing this because I like making dresden plates and I really like all the tips I've learned along the way while sewing with Susan Marth. I might add that all her patterns are written with explicit details for success.

Check out what those blades are in. I really like this little bowl that my brother-in-law made for me. I've been thinking about him a lot lately because he recently came down with shingles. Awful!

I've been enjoying a book by David Baldacci. It's called "A Minute to Midnight" and I'm down to the last 40 or so pages. Truth be told, I'd rather be reading it than writing this post because it's moving right along to the finale. It'll be done some time today for sure! Wonder what I'll pick up next!

I really like Capital City Mambo Sauce. It's sweet and spicy all in one delicious bite. My daughter introduced me to it and I really like it on a grilled cheese sandwich -- especially when I use my son's smoked cheese. This sandwich is made with smoked gouda and a little mozzarella for cheese pull!

While at the commissary yesterday, I saw that they had two kinds of Mambo Sauce: The normal Sweet Hot and then a Mild version for those that can't take the heat, I guess. Wow! Who knew!!??!! Spicy for me, thank you.

You may have spied the Eckert's basket behind my grilled cheese sandwich. It had peaches in it and we are now enjoying peach pie and peach turnovers. The recipe I used for the turnovers was called Spiced Peach Turnovers and they are delicious! Sadly we only have three left.

I hope you've had a good week. Remember, you can hop on over to LeeAnna's blog and read loads more I Like Thursday posts. Catch you next week for the next round!

Dark Blues

Angela has selected dark blue for July's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Many have also opted for the alternative black/brown. I'm sticking with the dark blues after I catch up with the Irish Courthouse light blue blocks that I somehow missed.

These two blocks are fine for the light blues but, after looking at my photo, I believe this one will be considered a dark blue. Great -- two lights and one dark done.

I've also been working on the Afternoon Delight applique blocks. I can add a couple more to the "Finished" pile.

Block #29

Block #38

This week I took one of my sewing machines in to get set right. It had been cleaned in January by my LQS and it  did not come back purring like usual. I'd taken machine #2 to a different shop for a cleaning and it came back sewing beautifully. Now machine #1 (nicknamed Roger after Roger Federer because they're both Swiss) is at this newly found shop. Hopefully I get Roger back humming along like the other machine! Grateful to have two sewing machines!

Oh yeah! The point of the above paragraph. Machine #2 is currently occupied with quilting the Mini Wool Christmas project so no more piecing blocks until Roger has been returned, all cleaned up and ready to roll!

I'll be linking up with Angela & RSC friends at So Scrappy!

I Like Thursday #41

What a great time to think about all the things that make me happy. I definitely have a few things to share that I've liked this past week.

I took Gracie for her daily walk on Monday, the 4th of July. We saw Uncle Sam! Isn't he grand??!!

Then a few houses down we saw this sign in a yard. Independence Day Party here!

Earlier in the week, I took a page out of Little Penguin Quilts' blog post and checked out Needle and Foot's Etsy Shop. The store was (maybe still is?) having a going-out-of-business sale and I took advantage. I'm familiar with Bernie through the Positivity QAL that I've joined but didn't realize she had a shop. Anyway I ordered and I received within the week in spite of the 4th of July holiday! Pretty stuff, huh?

This morning after my walk I discovered this day lily blooming among the coneflowers and daisies. I see you, my pretty!

The other day I also spied that "survivor" hydrangea blooming now with several flowers. (Please look past the dirty house. Thank you.)

I also like my oakleaf hydrangea. It seems extra full this year. I like the way the blooms start cream colored and turn pink as they age. So pretty! (Again, please pardon the dirty house. Thank you.)

My niece was in between softball tournaments - between Denver and Kansas City - so she made a pit stop in St. Louis. We got to visit with her for a few hours on Monday. Gracie loves Kelli. She sat still for a good brushing by Kelli. Check out that hair mass!

We are still enjoying watching the matches at Wimbledon but we were sad to see Roger Federer lose Wednesday morning. He's our favorite because he plays quietly (no grunting with every stroke!) and he's such a gentleman at all times.

I hope you enjoyed my "likes" this week. Check out what the others have liked this week at Not Afraid of Color. I'll be linking up there myself!