Hello again!
Just returned to quilting after a 4 month hiatus. Much pressure (self imposed) this past year to complete quilts, patterns, and all required by the shop for classes which led to the vacation. Had five projects done for each of three quarters; taking the summer off made good sense. Have decided to do only one original quilt each time from now on and rely on published patterns for the rest. I love to create and to teach but get bogged down in making the pattern after the quilt is finished. Took photos of every step of the last original, which helped but was cumbersome. Think they will be beneficial when teaching. (I start with a sketch then make many changes as the quilt progresses. DD says that I do it backwards. Maybe so, works for me. Except for the paperwork after. Am working on a quilt which will be called 'Follow Me' of lime spinning stars on teal, purple and blue backgrounds. Tested making the stars with a template and then paper piecing. The template star is spinning the opposite direction of the paper pieced, thus the name. It will be the first block. After those months without quilting, I made every mistake known with paper piecing. It is such a backward process. Has anyone tried working on the right side of the paper? Paula N. (kalidascope) class featured that last year; wish I'd taken it. New resolution: take a class every quarter!
Our summer was hot! 2 1/2 months of 95 - 105 and no rain. Only 4 inches this year. Discovered that the plants do not like dwelling in pots here. Their roots get too warm. Things grow much bigger, too. Must be the warm soil. See that it is already freezing at nights in our former home town of Bend, OR. We have removed and cut back in the flower beds twice already as they are overgrown. Peach double hollyhocks grew roof high and took over. Veronica is as big as the lavender. Lupine and snapdragons are very big. We are finding herbs, carnations and vinca hiding beneath the overgrown plants. DH did his usual slaughter of one plant, spiderwort. Need to remove all the cutting implements - too many arguements come from his work with them. He believes plants look best with military haircuts. (This is the man who pruned the squash vines.) Love that the acorn squash and tomatoes are just hitting their peaks producing with another 5-6 weeks of the growing season. Sunflowers are gorgeous. The landscapers told us not to plant raspberies, yuccas and pampas grass as those are the most prolific. They remove them frequently.
DGD Brooke returned to school here a month ago. Lovely having her here Sundays. She does her laundry, enjoys the lack of dorm noise and packs a 'doggie bag' full of dinner's leftovers. Having the college here is a great perk. Nice to be closer to family, too. Each has visited for several days. We've visited the water park, pools, rec center, climbing walls and amusement parks now. DS is 2 hours away making day trips feasible. 2 DGS's came for a week of soccer camp. 2 more came to participate in the golf tournament. Love having them visit.
Had to purchase another cutting mat as mine were in AZ. Will have them in both places now. How does one get rid of the smell? Terrible, as bad as being skunked. It remains in the garage for now. One drop deodorizer didn't touch it.
Have two trips planned for October. One for 9 days on the Oregon coast. My sis will spend a couple of days. Always find quilt inspiration at the local shops. Then another to McCall, ID with a dear friend who lost her husband to cancer this summer. Will also take DGD home for a long weekend giving me time with two of the kids.
Blessings,
MJ in ID
Our summer was hot! 2 1/2 months of 95 - 105 and no rain. Only 4 inches this year. Discovered that the plants do not like dwelling in pots here. Their roots get too warm. Things grow much bigger, too. Must be the warm soil. See that it is already freezing at nights in our former home town of Bend, OR. We have removed and cut back in the flower beds twice already as they are overgrown. Peach double hollyhocks grew roof high and took over. Veronica is as big as the lavender. Lupine and snapdragons are very big. We are finding herbs, carnations and vinca hiding beneath the overgrown plants. DH did his usual slaughter of one plant, spiderwort. Need to remove all the cutting implements - too many arguements come from his work with them. He believes plants look best with military haircuts. (This is the man who pruned the squash vines.) Love that the acorn squash and tomatoes are just hitting their peaks producing with another 5-6 weeks of the growing season. Sunflowers are gorgeous. The landscapers told us not to plant raspberies, yuccas and pampas grass as those are the most prolific. They remove them frequently.
DGD Brooke returned to school here a month ago. Lovely having her here Sundays. She does her laundry, enjoys the lack of dorm noise and packs a 'doggie bag' full of dinner's leftovers. Having the college here is a great perk. Nice to be closer to family, too. Each has visited for several days. We've visited the water park, pools, rec center, climbing walls and amusement parks now. DS is 2 hours away making day trips feasible. 2 DGS's came for a week of soccer camp. 2 more came to participate in the golf tournament. Love having them visit.
Had to purchase another cutting mat as mine were in AZ. Will have them in both places now. How does one get rid of the smell? Terrible, as bad as being skunked. It remains in the garage for now. One drop deodorizer didn't touch it.
Have two trips planned for October. One for 9 days on the Oregon coast. My sis will spend a couple of days. Always find quilt inspiration at the local shops. Then another to McCall, ID with a dear friend who lost her husband to cancer this summer. Will also take DGD home for a long weekend giving me time with two of the kids.
Blessings,
MJ in ID
posted by MJ @ 12:56 PM
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