What A Week

 A roundup …

Wednesday, while on my way to lunch with friends, a chunk of metal came spinning up from the freeway and embedded itself in the grill of my car. 

My little souvenir 

Very grateful it didn’t hit the windshield (I’d probably have wrecked the car trying to avoid it) or cause more damage than it did. Scary stuff. 

Jac got sorted into a leadership group at school. She’s thrilled! 

Donovan decided to take a little snooze while Jac read out loud in the car while we waited for taekwondo to start. We are multi-taskers!

Donovan’s first top-down ride in Pop’s car (wearing Pop’s shades). Can you tell he liked it? 😍

Date Night

 Date night! Whoo!

Dinner at Marmalade in Westlake, watching the fountain and koi (while chasing off the determined and very annoying wasps . . .)

then listening to Socks In The Frying Pan, an incredible Irish folk group from County Kerry. 

Funny and incredibly talented musicians - such a great show. 

Gotta keep my eye out for their return next year. 

Change of Plans

I didn't mean to make another quilt! Lol

My original idea was to use these panels on the back of Slide Show, pretty much as-is. 

But I really, really like the critters, so . . .

I cut them up…

then put them back together again. 

Still need borders, but it’s getting there. (It’s hard to tell but the sashing is a light purple.)

The Sillies

 Usually it’s Jac who gets the sillies

but Donovan was on a roll today

while we waited for taekwondo to start. 

Their favorite part?

Standing with their heads out the sunroof.

(They were in their socks so no consoles were damaged …  honest! 😂)

So silly. 

Kits, Kids And Alaska

The fabric I ordered for Jama’s grandkids arrived after the long weekend, giving me no excuse to avoid finishing a chance to finish Slide Show. (Yay!!) Making a list - including my Alaska purchases - so I can remember what I meant to do with all this . . .

Galaxy panel, 37 x 44, for an imagination quilt for Jac and Donovan to go with their “ocean.” (Here and here. The second link is one of my all time favorites.) (Done 10/2023)

Dragon and castle for Abby, who is 12-ish. Panel is 36x44” so I’ll add some fancy borders around the edges to make it larger. Maybe stars? (such an awesome dragon) (done 11/2023)

Galaxy kit for Marshall who just started 7th grade. (Done 11/2023)

And black cats for a stripe across the back, since he’s a cat person too. 

These surfin’ dogs made me laugh so I got them for Spencer, 6. 

Planning to cut up the 2 matching panels and make a 3-yard quilt using these seahorses from the same collection. (Done 11/2023)

And this one because I loved it and couldn’t resist. 

And when I finish all that … I can work on more Alaska goodies. Northern lights kit (maybe use similar borders for Abby’s quilt?) …

cute puffin wallhanging…

laser cut totem for another wallhanging …

and a bear panel kit using … wait for it … bear paw block borders! I’m going to be busy for awhile.

Alaska Slide Show

This looks more like a film strip* to me than a slide show, but either way, it’s done. 53x65”

I usually piece things left to right, one row at a time - which can be tedious and boring - but I saw where someone pieced hers in blocks, so gave that a try . . . 

So much more interesting to work on! And less wresting with long, unwieldy rows, which is one of my least favorite things. This idea is a definite keeper.

The original pattern called for 5” borders all around but I like the current look and size, so I’m going to skip them. 

This used up most of the Tlingit-style fat quarters I bought in Juneau specifically for this quilt. I have a plan to use the remaining pieces on the backing. Be interesting to see if it works out like the picture in my head . . .

* Betting kids nowadays don’t even know what a film strip is, let alone what it looks like. 😂😂

OMGeeeeee!

My genealogy book is here!!

I ordered both a hard-cover and a paperback from Lulu.com to see how they’d look - the hardback is much nicer - and to check for printing problems. 

No big issues, but I want to change a couple of things that bug me. Very pleased with the quality and the price ($22 for hardback, $13 for soft, plus shipping. Shutterfly was around $40 due to the extra pages.) Hoping to fix, re-upload and order multiple copies this weekend. So excited!!!

Chop, Chop

 This project is at the sew it …

chop it …

piece it …

again and again and again stage.

Hoping to get it on the design wall tomorrow and start stitching some rows.

Quilts and Libraries

Took Jac with me to return a very overdue book (no fine since it was checked out during Covid!) 

and she ended up checking out two books. One on condors - Jac: “I want this since I know nothing about condors.” - and the other on wolves. 

I pointed out a couple of unicorn books but she wasn’t interested. Given a choice, Jac almost always picks non-fiction. She finds animals fascinating. 

Quilt progress! 

 First 30 blocks. Whoo!

It’s slow going since I’m straight-line-sewing challenged and these have to be square. A tiny bit proud of myself for not throwing in the towel and looking for a simpler pattern…

Working On A Plan

I’ve ordered fabric to make quilts for my late sister’s grandkids (including one due in January - so exciting!)

and while I wait, I’m hoping to get another Alaska quilt started (finished? That’s probably dreaming …)

Got all the pieces cut tonight. Maybe sewing can commence tomorrow …