FNSI & RSC Reports

Oh my goodness, it's hard to post anything as nice as our weather has turned lately. No heat! No humidity! That makes me a happy girl!! I know there are those out there that think it's too cool already. I think it's perfect weather for fall clean-up in the yard. Those early morning temps are perfect for walking the dog. Speaking of Gracie, she is thrilled with the lower temperatures. She's truly a 50s girl!

Yesterday and today we have the privilege to dog-sit the dogs next door. Gracie just loves to romp with the boys but they're getting up in years and they can't play like they used to. 70 pounds of happiness that is leaping and jumping at them is just a little too much for them to handle for long.

Gracie & Odie

Odie looking for his folks

Last night was Friday Night Sew In and I decided I felt like knitting. My socks are really coming along. I'm on the 4th pattern chart and it is going quickly now. I'll be knitting the toes soon and finishing them up. I love this yarn. It's really soft and squishy. When I take the final picture of the completed socks, I'll give all the details. In the meantime, just imagine!

Many thanks to Wendy at Sugarlane Designs for getting us all together virtually for some sewing (or knitting) with like-minded folks. I'm linking up with her there and will spend some time visiting to see all the beautiful things everyone worked on last night.

Red is really going well for September's color of the month. I think that's what I like about the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Every month there is a focus color. Here are the six blocks I managed to sew this week.

When added to the two I finished the previous two weeks, they look like this. Only one more to go of the Awesome Land blocks this month! I'll be sharing my red progress on Angela's So Scrappy blog along with many others. Such beautiful work to admire there!

These blocks have actually been my leaders & enders for an even bigger project. Last year we made Tiny Tuesday blocks with the RSC. The blocks finished 4.5" and then they were framed either straight or on point to finish 7". I'm working on getting this quilt DONE!

I decided that my 44 blocks were not enough and what a funny number to have gotten done. I looked back on Angela's blog and found a couple of bonus blocks after deciding I wanted 48 blocks total. So I counted up how many of each color I had and then I counted up how many were set on point and how many were set straight. Turns out I needed one extra yellow, orange, purple, and green block -- 3 needed to be on point and 1 set straight.

I also decided that I would turn four Tiny Tuesday blocks into one larger block, adding a 2" sashing strip with a tiny 4-patch center. I managed to get 4 of these done and I am LOVING how they are turning out! Here are my first four in no particular order.

(The orange block was an additional block)

The purple block was a bonus block

And here they are laying together.

Here is a picture of  my organization. Looks more like chaos but there really is a rhyme and a reason to this mess. The Tiny Tuesday blocks are grouped in fours and the 4-patch that will go with them is attached too.

I'm thinking I will separate the larger blocks with 3" sashing and scrappy 9-patches. You know, just a larger version of the squares. Thoughts?

Lately we've had a praying mantis visit our hummingbird feeders. DH says the larger mantises will actually catch and kill my hummingbirds. We've pried him off with a stick and removed him but he has returned three times now. Each removal he was relocated further and further. The last time was to the far side of our property into the woods. I'm keeping an eye out for him everyday. Looks like he's keeping an eye out for me too!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I hope Fall has returned to your area. Enjoy!

I Like Thursday #7

Welcome to my post where I show you happy things in my life this past week. There's a group of us that enjoy sharing the goodness in our lives and we are all linked up HERE on Leeanna's blog Not Afraid of Color. There's a lot of interesting things to read about if you happen to wander over there yourself!

I know everyone keeps talking about the Fall weather and we are most definitely enjoying it around here too. We're about to get a cold blast from the north so our temps are going to be dropping even more this weekend. I am a little concerned about my friends in the FL panhandle. Miss Sally has sure been dropping bucket-loads of rain down there and my husband's cousins are on the shore of AL. We've heard from them and they haven't floated away ... yet!

What's going on around here? Folks in my neighborhood are putting out their Autumnal decorations. So pretty!

Mother Nature is dressing up the neighborhood too. Such beautiful colors.

And colors yet to be ....

Mr. Blue-Tail Skink was seen scurrying for the once-beautiful day lilies and irises. The bricks warm up nicely for him there on the south side of our house.

Having a hard time seeing him in there? How's this?!

Yes, that's much better! Ha!

I hate the idea of all the fires burning up all those acres in CA and CO. Animals and people live there! Although I can appreciate the beautiful sunrises we've been having clear out here in IL due to the hazy skies from the smoke.

Wherever you live, whatever you do, I hope you can appreciate all that you have. Wishing you a wonderful week!

Red Week #2

So far I haven't been able to really get going on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks even though I was quite happy when Angela picked red for September. I'll bet you can find a lot more red blocks if you visit So Scrappy. I'll be visiting there over the next few days and in the meantime, I'll show you the little bit I did manage to get done.

How about some lambs? I will be very sad when I eventually run out of this fabric from Primitive Gatherings. This is the only red block I got done  for Awesome Land this week.

Here is Block #25 for Afternoon Delight. This project isn't part of RSC and contains no red ... but I did finish it.

Hey look! I spy red on Block #26 of Afternoon Delight. Both of these blocks were assigned for August and I finally finished them up Friday night. I've already downloaded the two blocks which are for September. Need to get busy on those pronto!

Tuesday night we had a Zoom guild meeting. Due to cancelled programs because of COVID, the guild's board decided to do a Make & Take project. About ten days before the meeting, every member in the guild received a small kit with written instructions and a supply list for what we needed to have on hand to complete the project. Nothing weird -- needle, floss, glue, optional beads, etc.

Our project was a scissors fob and it is cute as can be and very doable. Here's the front of mine. Check it out -- red!

Kind of looks like a bloodshot eyeball, doesn't it? Hahahaha! And here's a peek at the back.

More red thread with navy background and white stars. I love the charm I got in my kit -- a sewing machine! Perfect! I want to give a special shout out to the Hearts 'n' Hands Quilt Guild board members for really coming through to entertain us. I forget who we our guest was supposed to have been this month but I know last month we were supposed to have Gudrun Erla of GE Designs! Bummer! I had requested her, the board got her, then the Corona hit. Argh!

Anyway, I certainly appreciate how my guild is doing their very best to be sure that we have quality meetings. Next month we will have a guest Zoom her program for us and I am looking forward to that!

Have a great weekend!

I Like Thursday #6

Sometimes it feels like there is so much trouble everywhere that it is hard to be optimistic. That's why the I Like Thursday posts are so wonderful .... it gives every sharer a chance to speak positive and shove the negative aside. Leeanna from Not Afraid of Color is our host and there's a lot of goodness to be read if you'd care to take a gander!

Of course I'll start with a walk with Gracie. This was taken last weekend. I don't like to walk a ways and then turn around and return on the same course. Gracie & I can go down the bike trail to the right and then cut through to a private gravel road that runs alongside the bike trail. We get to see different things. In order to return to the bike trail to go home, we have discovered that someone mows a trail to connect the two -- the gravel road to the bike trail. Look how thick the growth would be to go through. Nope! We would not be taking this little side trip if not for the nice person that mows us a path. Thank you, nice person!!!

Wednesday morning the air was so heavy! We had fog or haze or something. It was pretty with the buildings in the back and the mature corn in the front.

This was also taken Wednesday morning. I call this the "Bunny Trail" because Gracie can usually spot a bunny or two along the way. Look how mature that corn has gotten. Fall is certainly around the corner and the farmer will have this down before long. Notice it is still foggy-ish!

Speaking of Fall, last Sunday the neighbor's tree went from this ...

To this ....

I've starting noticing leaves on the ground around here. Yes, Fall is coming!

Saturday was the Kentucky Derby. Can't watch a derby without a mint julep! Thanks to my neighbor for providing the mint!! It was strange to be watching the derby this year at Labor Day instead of Mother's Day but Mom & I still had fun!

Dinner needed to be easy after all that derby excitement (and juleps!) so it was salad, home fries, and bratwursts. Oh yes, and of course a glass of wine. The brats were jalapeno & cheddar cheese. Needed something to help wash them down.

I did get these pictures from my son & DIL over the weekend.

Brody waiting patiently to eat breakfast al fresco.

The chef on the outdoor Blackstone Grill. My son loves cooking especially if it's outdoors. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Blackstone Grill, charcoal, or smoker. He's game!

Yay! Chow time!

I hope this post has brought a smile to your face or at least caught your interest in the name of optimism. Have a great finish to your week! 

FNwF & RSC Red

Our Rainbow Scrap Challenge leader Angela has chosen RED for September's color of the month in honor of the little red schoolhouses. After all, it is September when children traditionally go back to or are already in school. Unfortunately 2020 has presented a few problems with that this year. Enough of that. Thanks to Angela, there are lots of digging into our red scraps, creating pretty projects, and sharing at So Scrappy. Let's play!

I only managed to complete one red Awesome Land block. Of course there is one in progress because I was using it as a leader & ender for something else.

All you friends that love red, black, and white together will be exceptionally pleased with the Awesome Land blocks this month.

Speaking of leaders & enders, I've now got a half dozen Easy Peasy blocks. This is the Bonnie Hunter L&E project for this year which started July 1. Let's see how far I get come June 30. Anyway, I'm doing mine all in oranges & blues but I do spy a little red here and there.

Mostly what I've been working on is a little of this. It was a project I started a while ago (last year?) and really want to finish this year. These blocks are webbed with only the rows needing to be sewn together now. Too bad this is an unofficial UFO ... didn't make my official UFO CHallenge list or my 2020 PHD Challenge list. Rats! Working on it anyway! Can you tell it's for Halloween?

Last night was also Friday Night with Friends hosted by Cheryll at Gone Stitchin'. My handwork project has been these clam shells lately. It's for another challenge and there'll be more about it when I finish it and show it off (hopefully). Last night we went from this .....

To this!

The Kentucky Derby is being run this afternoon. Usually it's run in the spring but due to the pandemic it's been delayed. Mom came down yesterday (Friday) instead of today to catch our community band practicing (playing) in our local park. It was so nice to sit outside and listen to the band. They played oldies all the way to a song from La La Land and it was so enjoyable! We'll enjoy watching the Kentucky Derby together today.

Whatever your plans, make today count!

I Like Thursday #5

 Such a fun post to write. Even more fun to read the posts of others. See what I mean HERE.

I spied butternut squash growing in a garden on a walk with Gracie, of course.

Autumn is approaching and that makes me happy. I love Fall! The crisp air, the bluer-than-blue skies, the smell of the Earth getting ready for Winter. Two weeks ago, this tree looked like this.

This past week it looked like this. I've even noticed one of my neighbor's trees has started dropping leaves.

Nothing like a little Fall baking either. I figured we were a little zuked out around here so I pulled out some of the blueberries that I'd frozen while they were at their peak and  made a Lemon-Blueberry Coffee Cake. This recipe is from Our Best Bites which I got from Sherri Fall at A Quilting Life.

It looks loaded with blueberries. Let's cut a piece and see. Of course, it tastes even better with a cup of hot coffee!

There are blueberries in every bite! And that streusel topping is so cinnamony and yummy!

My neighbor loves flowers and the more colorful the better. She talked about her Datura plants and how she wanted me to see them. I was familiar with the plant through my sister who had a beautiful white one in her backyard in Denver but I didn't know they came in other colors. Here is my neighbor's purple datura with a double-ruffle. Very pretty!

This was our sunset last night. Beautiful colors and of course the sky was even more magnificent in person.

I hope you can look around and appreciate all the little things that make up your world. There's peace and happiness if you look for it.

Linking up and sharing positive thoughts with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.

September PHD Report

 It's a FINISH! Actually finished on August 25 but I've since been waiting for the sun to come out for a beautiful outdoor photo shoot. Hasn't worked out yet around here so this will do for now. May I present "Oh My Stars!" laying on my bed. It's really pretty and I'm so glad I stuck with the orange little stars.

The pieced blocks are HUGE coming in at 24" square. That makes for a good sized queen quilt measuring at approximately 100" square. The borders and Celtic knots were machine-appliqued. The top is pieced from 100% cotton and the batting is Warm 'n' Natural 80/20. The backing is a subtle polka-dot, also 100% cotton. The binding is scrappy green fabrics. Again 100% cotton.

This "beast" was quilted on my domestic sewing machine: Bernina 153 Quilters Edition. In hind sight (which is always perfect, right?), I would have quilted it a bit more densely but being 100% done is very satisfying. A few pictures of the quilting on the front.

Oh My Stars! was designed by Linda Lee Hodges, which she so graciously shared with our Twisted Sisters Quilt Group in 2015. Not too bad by my standards .... only took me 5 years to complete! Here's a look at my quilt label. I did it with my sewing machine. Please overlook the OOPS! I made in the word PATTERN. For some reason I thought I only put one T and pulled it out to check. Obviously I did not realign the machine embroidery correctly when I continued. Note to self: Do No Doubt Yourself.

As for my PHD Report, Oh My Stars! is the 4th finish on my list. It is also my largest quilt. It has been referred to in my blog as "the beast" due to its size. It certainly was not a hard quilt to make and should never have taken me so long to make. Oh My Stars! was also listed for my 2020 UFO Challenge through my LQS.

I'm off to work on a new project and then my next PHD Project -- Tiny Tuesdays. It's due October 26 at my LQS for a UFO Challenge. I hope the sun comes out for a proper photo shoot of Oh My Stars! Maybe I'll have something else completed by then!!

Linking up with Gail at Quilting Gail and others trying to get their Projects Half Done finished too! Find everyone HERE.