WOOFA & PHD Reports

As we're getting ready to wrap up August, it's time to look back and see what we had hoped to accomplish and what we actually managed. I have really been pushing myself to finish the applique blocks for Afternoon Delight. This is a Sue Garman pattern that I downloaded from The Quilt Show. Membership was required. Anyway, this is how I started out August.

I got the block 100% finished! It's a beauty!

Then I went on to get a few more done.

I am currently working on #39 of 40 applique blocks.

So close to done with these. Next step on this quilt? There are 64 OMG blocks to piece!! Yes, that is 64 9-patches-in-a-9-patch. I plan on using up my scraps from the applique blocks and then some probably! These will definitely be getting worked on behind the scenes since Afternoon Delight is on my PHD (Projects Half Done) list for this year.

Of course, that is not enough to work on. This month I will also be concentrating on Twisted 2020. I have been doing a lot of work on it also behind the scenes. It is on both my PHD list and is the bonus project on the UFO Challenge list. This will be my WOOFA for September as well.

Looks like another busy month! I hope everyone, whatever your hobby may be, picks out a project to focus on and then makes the time to work on it. Good luck!

Last Call for RSC Turquoise/Teal

This is the last Saturday of the month and that means in a few days turquoise/teal will come to an end for us RSCers. I like the color but don't have a lot of scraps to prove it. I did manage a couple of blocks this month though.

One Lotus Blossom block

One Irish Courthouse Steps Block

I do have two more Irish Courthouse Steps blocks cut and ready to sew this weekend.

Pretty turquoise cutter between them!

I have really been concentrating this month on moving my Twisted 2020 and Twisted 2021 projects forward. No pictures at this point as there are really only a lot of parts working towards blocks. Soon enough I'll share.

Linking up with Angela at So Scrappy. I'll head over there myself over the weekend to see what my friends have accomplished with their teal/turquoise scraps as well!

I Like Thursday #47

I missed writing up last week's I Like Thursday because ..... I like quilt retreats! Sorry but I was away and didn't want to busy myself with electronics. The phone was enough. Five wonderful days! Now back to reality and getting myself back on track.

Wine always makes my Like List and this little coaster was in the "scraps for the taking" pile at retreat. My friend Millie said it was totally me! Also it describes me ... Smooth and mellow! Ha!

Did you know that pumpkin spice doughnuts are back at Dunkin' Donuts? I heard it on the radio and I celebrated their return last weekend by picking up doughnuts for the gang at home. The three on the left are the scrumptious pumpkin spice ones.

While at retreat, there were of course a couple of stash enhancement runs. At A to Z Quilt Store in Quincy, IL, I spied this apron panel and knew it was mine! I like sewing these easy aprons and will add it to my collection. I like kitties too and this one looks super cute! Check it out ... I already sewed it together so I'm ready for cooler weather and Trick-or-Treaters!

I really like the color of orange and was really smitten with this fabric for the backing. Love, love, love! Bright orange but not too bright!

I'm still liking my book by Stephen King, "If It Bleeds". It is four short stories and I'm almost finished with the third which is another episode of Holly Gibney from King's previous book "Mr. Mercedes". You can read about this book on Goodreads HERE.

Wow! Kitty & orange!! Hahaha!

That wraps up my "likes" for this week. I'll be checking out the other "I Like Thurs" posts on LeeAnna's blog Not Afraid of Color HERE. Have a good rest of your week!

Positivity Quilt Completed!

Today I am going to share my Positivity Quilt. The pattern was designed by Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts. It was a fun and easy pattern to sew. Preeti is actually the one to challenge us to make a 60" x 80" quilt using her pattern and timeline. The finished quilts will need to be mailed to Bernie @ Needle and Foot. She has a charitable organization called Mercyful Quilts and all the quilts will be donated to this charity.

I chose my "plus sign" fabrics from a jelly roll that I had won from a local quilt shop, O'Sew Personal. Isn't that perfect? Free fabric is destined to be used for charitable opportunities if you ask me. My background fabrics and binding fabric came from my stash. The backing came from yet another local quilt store, Itch'n To Be Stitch'n.

The quilting was easily completed using my Bernina 153 sewing machine. The quilting stitch I love to use is what I call "Preeti's Quilt Stitch"! It's a serpentine stitch which is the #4 stitch on my machine. I leave the stitch width at 5 and I increase the length to 3. I love how easy it is to remember: 3-4-5!

On to my Positivity Quilt! The photo shoot took place yesterday while the weather was decent. It was only 90 degrees but little humidity. Today we're supposed to go to 92 with so much humidity that it will feel like 105! Ugh! So I did manage to take advantage of the better temps. First up is at the top of the deck. I can really see the "S" pattern in the middle as suggested by another blogger. Let's call it S for Smile!

Hanging at the bird patio in the backyard. I thought it was so sweet of this volunteer sunflower to bloom right here. I suppose this could be called S is for Sunflower!

Laid back in a chair by the bird patio. S is for Sigh. Ahhhhhh!

Sitting peacefully by my favorite hydrangea called Limelight. S is for Sweet!

And lest I forget the back, here is S is for Sitting Pretty.

And how about S is for Sun-Dappled?

Here's a good close-up of the quilting and the beautiful, paisley backing fabric. S is for Squiggles!

Did I mention how much I enjoyed sewing Positivity with friends and for such a good cause. Thank you, Preeti, for getting us the pattern and then keeping us on-track to finish. Thank you, Bernie, for forwarding these beautiful quilts on to those in need. I'm sure they will feel all the love sewn in to each and every quilt.

Linking up with all the other Positivity quilters HERE.

RSC Aqua

Let me start by saying I had a wonderful time at retreat this week. I'm looking forward to the October one and hope that we'll be able to get together then. While at retreat, I squeezed out an aqua block. I used the opportunity to make it my leader & ender. The others were quite impressed with my L & E. I even got another one started but I'll save that another time.

I cut out enough pieces to make 5+ of these complete blocks. I say "plus" because I've got enough of some of the pieces to make 8 but only had a chance to sew together these two. Scrappy but no aqua.

These blocks use the Corner Beam ruler from Deb Tucker & Studio 180 Design. It is a WONDERFUL ruler and I'm looking forward to using it more in the future.

I got about half the binding sewn down for my Positivity quilt which has now been completed. Needs a  washing and a photo shoot which will take place today hopefully.

While at retreat I also worked on a little applique. I got the top half done on this block.

There was also a little stash enhancement done while I was away but some much needed rest, eating, and (most of all) laughter & chatting with friends. I hadn't been on this retreat for about 4 years. Maybe even longer than that so there was a lot of catching up to do with friends that I hadn't seen in that long!

I'm already looking forward to next retreat but I'll sign off for now. Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Angela at Sew Scrappy to see how other RSC quilters have progressed this week.

RSC Turquoise

I don't have a lot to post this week. I've been very busy quilting the Positivity quilt (almost done). My binding is just about set to be sewn on too. In the meantime, let me just say that it is has been a crazy week for me. 

Tuesday afternoon I had UFO Club at my local quilt shop (O'Sewpersonal in Collinsville, IL). I showed my completed Mini Wool Christmas wall hanging.

That was my #6 on the UFO Challenge list and #3 was chosen next. It is a Christmas pillow and will be due October 12th. It was a really cute & fun sew-along with Susan Marth on her blog. It will need to be quilted and then finished as a pillow. I'm hoping to put a zipper on the back. This is what it looks like today. You will notice the dresden plate in the center -- Susan's signature! Hahaha! See what I mean when you check out her website HERE.

Then Tuesday evening was guild meeting. We had Vicki Hodge present a trunk show and let me tell you her quilts are beautiful! She loves looking at antique quilts and then working on her own scrappy version of them. At one time she planned on hand quilting all her quilts but it became apparent that she had way too many tops. So what did she do? She put two tops back-to-back and had them quilted. Double-sided quilt! She said you only have to be careful when choosing your binding since it'll be on both quilts! Brilliant! She has a book with Quiltmania called Button Box Quilts. Check it out HERE.

Wednesday I took an all-day class with Vicki. It was scrappy and fun. I did mine Christmas-themed and will show later when I finish the project.

Thursday morning was Tips & Techniques at another local quilt shop (Rosemary's Quilts in Highland, IL). We had a good talk followed by LOTS of show 'n' tell. No pictures, sorry.

Thursday evening was the monthly TAS (The Applique Society) meeting. Our speaker was sitting in Australia -- let's hear it for Zoom meetings!!! Yay!!! Her name is Michelle Yeo and she shared her quilting journey. So many gorgeous quilts. I did remember to take a couple of pictures. You can see more from Michelle at her website HERE.

So what about yesterday? I started preparing for retreat. There was grocery shopping and lots of mulling around what projects to take. My friends, Millie & Karen, will be stopping by tomorrow morning to pick me up and away we'll go for 5 days, returning Thursday. I'm sure to have LOTS of pictures!

But my excitement has gotten away from me. This is my RSC post. I did manage to fit in a Lotus Blossom block using turquoise.

And look at the picture I got this week from my son ....

Brody wearing a turquoise shirt! Perfect timing! Hahaha! My son juices veggies and fruits every morning for the family. Brody just finished his and I'm going to bet that there were beets in the juice that morning! Good for him!

That's all I've got for now because I've got to keep getting ready for retreat. Laundry, of course, is at the top of the list! Have a great week and I'll catch you next week!

Linking up with So Scrappy to share and to see what the others have to share. So fun!

I Like Thurs #46

There are so many likes in my life but I don't have many pictures to share this week. Maybe that's a like for you! Haha!

My very 1st like this week would have to be my guild. Tuesday night we had a woman come in with a trunk show from her book. Her name is Conni Hodge and her book is Button Box Quilts from Quiltmania. Her quilts are beautiful! She is inspired by antique quilts, loves reproduction fabrics, and scrappy is the name of her game. Unfortunately I have no pictures.

Wednesday I was in her class to sew a small scrappy project. Again no pictures but when I finish it you know you'll get to see it. While the others made theirs in darker, reproduction-type colors, I of course had to go outside the box -- Christmas fabrics! Oh my! So different! Hahaha!

My leader & ender project was the block for the guild's August BOM. I had all the pieces cut & sewn but forgot to sew it together! We are making 16-patch blocks with HSTs and there will be a total of nine. We could make any size blocks we wanted but have to use the pattern given for each month. Here's my pile of HSTs.

So can you see why I like my guild? Trunk show, class, BOM ...  not to mention friendships!

We have been suffering with extreme heat warnings the last couple of days with one more day to go (or so they say). We have been in the mid- to upper-90s with heat indices near or above 110! Can you understand why I like A/C, especially this week?!?!?!

In spite of the heat, on my Sunday walk with Gracie I noticed this tree was starting to change colors. I have to admit that it is ALWAYS the first in our neighborhood to start turning. I like Autumn and this is a pleasant reminder.

I have "surprise lilies" that I also like. They also go by the name of "bare naked ladies". Unfortunately the heat kicked up some incredible storms the other day and chopped one off. I brought it into the house and put it in water. It looks so pretty!

This week I'd like to share Brody's like. Apparently, at the ripe young age of 2, he has decided that he likes to eat BLATs! That's Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, & Tomato sandwiches! Never knew a kid that liked BLTs, let alone avocado!

I hope you have a week full of "likes" yourself. You can always visit LeeAnna's blog Not Afraid of Color to enjoy more likes. I'll be doing that myself!

What a Great Friday!

What a great Friday I had! Things started off with lunch out for hubby's birthday. We went to one of our favorite local hole-in-the-walls and enjoyed a tasty meal. Then it was off to St. Louis to pick up Roger!! Yippee! The reason my sewing machine was making a clunking noise was a part was worn out. Got the new one installed, then cleaned up ready for pickup. Check out the stitching under the foot -- TURQUOISE! Perfect timing for Rainbow Scrap Challenge's August color!!!

With the turquoise thread used to run his through the stitches, I just knew he would be purring right along, even though Aaron said it's not quite as good as new. Aaron thought I'd still be quite pleased. So, in between Olympic events last night, I got Roger set up for sewing, cut a couple of large squares, and produced these HSTs for a Lotus Flower block.

Then I just had to get back to watching the Cardinals baseball game and Olympics so applique it was for Friday Night with Friends. This is the block I started working on.

You can just barely see that the right hand, outside part of the circle has been sewn. That was pretty much all I could manage last night but I thoroughly enjoyed rooting on the Cardinals and rooting on Team USA in girls indoor volleyball and the men's platform diving!

Earlier in the week I did finish up another applique block for Afternoon Delight. I'm really starting to see the end of the applique for this quilt.

Kind of looks like "rolling eyes" all around that star, doesn't it? Guess I might have been a little more careful and fussy-cut that fabric but I didn't and I am done.

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Cheryll for FNwF and Angela for RSC.

I Like Thursday #45

I'm going to start my "likes" this week with my daughter and sunflowers! I'd also toss in a winery, which is where she and the sunflowers were. Isn't that a huge bloom? It's bigger than her head! Ha!

My second "like" are my neighbors. I've got one neighbor that comes down to get me most mornings to walk. She's got a few health issues and says I'm the good neighbor for walking slowly so she can join me. Gracie loves her and the company is nice. Sometimes my neighbor manages quite a distance with us and some mornings she's experiencing too much pain to go far. Even on good days she travels with her cane. Good for her to get up and move whenever possible!

My other good neighbor is an animal lover. She knows so many interesting facts about animals and we enjoy sharing stories of what wildlife we've seen lately. The other day, a little hummingbird crashed into her patio door. She nursed it for about ten minutes before it was able to fly away. Her husband managed to get a picture which she texted to me.

On my walk this morning, I spied some Queen Anne's Lace blooming. What actually got my attention to begin with was the smell of honeysuckle. I did see a few blooms but then I saw the Queen Anne's Lace.

Here's a close-up. Doesn't it look like a snowflake?

We've been enjoying the Olympics here at our house. This week I've liked watching a bit of the springboard diving, artistic  swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, and hurdles. I'll say it again -- GO USA!

I'm about halfway through reading this book. I'm really liking it so far.

The other night I tried a new recipe from The Stay at Home Chef, Crispy Baked Pork Chops. They were so delicious and moist. My chops were actually boneless and butterflied so I did a little modification: I put a sprig of fresh rosemary and a sprig of fresh oregano from my herb garden between the layers. Oh my goodness, so delicious! You can find the recipe HERE. I heartily recommend it!

All in all it was a very good week. I hope you've been able to find a few things to like wherever you are. You can read other blogs of "likes" if you go to Not Afraid Of Color HERE.