Month: August 2023

“Bonanza” Quilt

I took “Bonanza” off the longarm early evening last night.

And, WOW, she is beautiful.

I called her “Bonanza” because she is made with leftover solid scraps from my fabric stash. The backing was there too–bought two years ago with birthday money from my younger son and his sweet wife. I would also like to say that “Bonanza” was inspired by designer Tara Faughnan’s recent work with half-square triangles. She has a new pattern out featuring them–which you can see on her web site.

I am fascinated with the secondary patterns that emerge with the use of light/dark half-square triangles. And that’s how this quilt got to be 83 inches square.

Here’s the backing:

You can see how the colors support the quilt top:

The pantograph, sewn in light grey thread, is “Bayside.” I wanted a pattern that would just lay down solid coverage that wasn’t too intense. “Bayside” is always a good choice.

Here’s a pic of the texture Bayside provides.

And here’s the quilt from another angle. The light is not great in the room where my longarm lives–especially when it is getting dark outside. But I have great light on my longarm from its light bar. And I can drag in other light if needed, but so far, I have not.

I am going to bind in the same dark “midnight” blue/purple used (Kona Nightfall) in the sashing. I have enough of this fabric in my stash, and I’ll cut and make that binding today–after I trim “Bonanza” on the back of the longarm. I’ll likely go ahead and install the binding as that will stabilize the edges of this quilt.

Meanwhile, the Summer Camp mystery quilt blocks are going up on the design wall. When I get them up I’ll let them sit for a bit so I can move around blocks as I see what needs moving. I’ll prep “Happy’s” backing (the quilt from hell) and put her on the longarm to be basted for hand quilting. And “Red Positivity” awaits her turn on the longarm–so named by a blog reader who noted the plus signs in the middle of each block.

As summer draws to a close, my summer quilty work is also gradually finishing up. It’s been a good summer.

Big Mexican Petunias and Big Red Quilt Top Finished

Good morning!

It is a “murky” kind of Wednesday morning here today. And the temps are cooler. Maybe we will get a bit of rain. Maybe I will have dinner on the porch today.

On Monday morning, I took my grill propane tank to the local True Value hardware store to have it refilled.

Look what is growing along the fence surrounding the propane station: full size Mexican Petunias. This plant is extremely hardy and aggressive.

My little dwarf version is thriving out front, and these are just the cutest little plants which bloom their hearts out. They will spread, yes, but I want them to fill up the bed where they are–as a sturdy and colorful border.

I finished the “big red” quilt top last night–I have not yet come up with a name I like. I really like the soft Kona Thistle sashing and will bind with it.

Here is a close-up. “Red Delight” maybe?

I finished the backing for “Bonanza,” the big half-square triangle quilt last night and will start loading this project on the longarm today likely. “Happy” (formerly known as “the quilt from hell”) is waiting to go on the longarm for hand-sewing basting.

Now, I am putting the “Summer Camp” mystery blocks from the Modern Quilt Society on the design wall and will leave them up there for a while as I know I’ll move those blocks around a lot before I commit to their final placement. Already I am moving the blocks around in the rows that are going up.

The hand-quilting on Traverse is going well–I’ve almost finished the green row with chartreuse squares. I’m liking the texture that is not trying to cover up the block patterns. And my hand quilting with Tara Faughnan’s method is getting way more reliable, so I don’t have to check the back so often.

And that’s all the news fit to share here for today!

Have a good one everyone.

My Local Library

I can still remember vividly when I got my first library card at the library at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana. I was about 9 or 10 I think and could ride my bike there on my own. I have never lost my wonder and excitement about libraries, which eventually led to the time I spent in the stacks at George Mason University’s campus library and libraries also available to me in the Washington, DC, area, like the big national library downtown.

My local library here is the Wando Mt. Pleasant Public Library. It is less than 10 minutes from my house–depending on how many red lights one encounters. It is very near Wando High School, which makes sense. Wando is a big name here–for one of the three BIG rivers that reach the coast around Charleston: the Wando, the Cooper, and the Ashley.

I visited the library one day this past week to get some new “pleasure” books to read. I read nonfiction all the time, but mostly online now. I also wanted to check out this local library more thoroughly than I had before now. The local library can tell you a lot about one’s community.

There is a kiosk in the front of the library where you can pay $1 for any books there you want to buy. There are always good books on that kiosk. Basically, I “rent” some books so I don’t have the pressure of reading them in a hurry. When I’m done with these books, I’ll return them to the library. These days, I read at my noon dinner and afterwards with my espresso coffee–as I hand-sew at night, often until quite late, while watching something on tv.

From the outside, the building is low and not impressive, with lots of parking. Inside, the spaces are filled with light, color, and exciting places to investigate, especially for young children. There are so many windows, each with a nice view. *Note: I can’t have (library policy) and don’t want people in any of my pictures, so I cropped the pictures I took to take out people. A person’s right to privacy is a cherished issue for me.

Here, in the children’s section, there are wonderful nooks that invite exploration. On a weekday morning, I was surprised by how many parents, including lots of dads, and how many children were in the library. This nook has some entrances that are low to the floor, which must surely call to a child. The “balloons” rise to the sky, which is very high in this alcove.

There were LOTS of cushioned reading places in front of windows–and only this one was not occupied by a parent reading to a child.

The inside of the children’s section has two very long swirling, serpentine shelves of books, each topped with books that, hopefully, draw a busy child’s attention. And note the little table nestled into one of the curves.

The ceiling is high and industrial which gives the library a sense of space and light. Note the meeting room in the far right corner. There are lots of these meeting rooms scattered across the library, some big, some small.

There are banks of computers everywhere in the library–two banks here, but I cropped one bank out of the picture as children were seated there.

The juvenile/young adult section is more traditional, but here, too, there is color and whimsy and a beautiful view.

And look what I found as I wandered the halls and passed meeting rooms: a whole room of sewing machines that one can use!!! And there was a woman using one.

The adult section, which one encounters upon entering the library, is also quite large. And I returned to it to look more closely at the kiosk where I could buy some books.

I came home with three books that I am looking forward to reading. And as I said above, after I am done, I will return them to the library so someone else can “buy” them to read.

It is slowly getting cooler, so I am, again, thinking of walking the beach. And, maybe, swimming again, too. But today I need to make a run to Costco and to return a split hose extension to Loews.

Yesterday I used the air fryer to cook chicken, some corn on the cob, and a broccoli/carrot mixture–so I have food for today, which makes it a “free” day for me.

Red Quilt and Air Fryer Fries

The big red blocks (10 inches) are getting sashed. Four rows are done, and sets of two are sewn together. I have to use a ladder to reach the top of the design wall, so I won’t sew those two top rows to the others until the last rows are done and connected.

I looked at some of the selvages more closely while cutting, and not all of these fabrics are Kaffe Fasset, which is ok. Remember that I bought two kits 18 or 19 years ago in Maine as I wanted to make a big red quilt, but never made the kits. I am using most of the kit fabrics, but not following the kit plan. I wanted something more modern–and I think I have a “modern traditional” quilt going here. The label doesn’t matter to me really as I am liking the quilt.

I’m really liking the soft lavender sashing–and I learned a way to set a long sashing strip so that the vertical lines match from videos on the Modern Quilt Studio web site via their Summer Camp mystery quilt. (They have a you-tube channel for their videos and these videos are very helpful for all levels of quilt competency.) I will bind with the lavender (Kona Thistle). And I have a soft grey wide-back for the backing and can use a medium grey to quilt.

Oh my! I am in huge trouble diet wise. I tried air frying French fries yesterday –I cut my own russet potatoes, soaked them in ice water for 30 minutes, dried them in a towel, and used a little duck fat which I melted for the fat coating, and salted them. I had preheated the air fryer–and 15 minutes later, and after shaking the drawer hard a few times, I had these DELICIOUS fries.

In the other drawer, I reheated a hamburger patty and the zucchini rounds I air fried the other day. I over-cooked the hamburger pattyies I made and should have paid attention to my own instincts. But the reheating went well and didn’t ruin either the zucchini rounds or the hamburger patty by cooking them more beyond warming them. LOL, ketchup helped. (I don’t like well-done meat.)

We got about an inch of rain here in two nights and with a shower yesterday. And the temps are now falling into the 70s at night–with daytime temps in the 80s and low 90s. Still, I will water the new little tree out front later today–just to make sure. It is looking ok for now.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I am hoping for a beach walk, but the high tide is now in the morning, and I sew late afternoon.

It Is Sunday Again

And it is HOT and dry here. We really need rain again. So, my watering duties have increased. But the new Crape Myrtle tree seems to be doing ok. I’m hoping the daily water when needed will help this new tree develop a good root system and will get it through the summer heat.

Lately, these little rain/tree frogs are in my garden–and around other neighbors’ houses. They are so cute, so vividly green. There is a darker brown version too. I haven’t tried to catch one to see if s/he has suckers on the feet, but it sure looks like they do. The downside: they have huge poops that they leave on the sides of our houses when they seek shelter away from the vegetation.

I googled and now believe these little frogs are American Green Tree Frogs, so yes, there are suckers on their feet. If you want to read more, here is a link. Yes, they can also have a darker brown color.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_green_tree_frog

I finished all the blocks for the big red quilt yesterday, with 18 extras which can be used for a smaller lap quilt. I have some extra fabric as well, so I could have 20 blocks down the road. I’ll cut the violet sashings today–Kona Thistle. The blocks are 10-inches finished, and the sashings will finish at 1 1/2 inches, so this quilt will be 90 1/2 finished. I’m still thinking about wide-back backings–the reds seem an overkill and too traditional. Also, one has to think about thread quilting color when choosing a backing, and I don’t want to quilt with red thread. I’m now wondering about something in the gold tones. Or a darker grey. Or, one of the newsprint backings. I’m going to bind with the Kona Thistle so I have to think about that too,

I have not had a working oven since August 1st. Ugh! The control board on my Kitchen aid froze somehow, and I was unable to turn it off. I had to turn it off with its breaker, in the garage, which also turns off the microwave. This oven is a gas/electric oven. The Whirlpool repair man has been here twice now, and we have the oven on, but locked, which allows me to use the top taps. (Yeah, I can make espresso coffee again.) But on the last visit the oven techie discovered that both bottom sides have damage that one wouldn’t notice until the oven is pulled out. The damage impacts the bottom warming drawer which doesn’t slide in and out properly–and maybe is a factor in the control board, which definitely needs replacing. There will be paperwork from Whirlpool soon.

I’ve put in a warranty ticket with the builder for a replacement oven. It’s clear that it was damaged when it was installed.

This past week, to cope, I bought an Air Fryer to join my grill and my Instant Pot. So, there is now a new learning curve–and most of you know I kind of like learning curves. I have been tempted by friends loving their air fryers for several years now.

When not in use, this appliance can fit in this spot in my kitchen, which was vacant except for Alexis, which I never really use. I like clean counters that don’t have a lot of appliances on them, and the storage in this house allows me to store appliances I’m not using every day. But this one is getting used every day.

I cooked this first meal in 25 minutes right after I unpacked it and read all the instructions. The corn was delicious, and the chicken drum sticks were moist and browned. I cooked the asparagus in the microwave in 3 minutes. (I am not a fan of microwaves, but necessity now makes its use needed.) I cooked 4 ears of corn and took the kernels off the other two ears for use in salads.

I can’t wait to try some handcut French fries with duck fat as the fat, rather than the bad veggie oils on the frozen fries in the grocery store.

Prior to the Air Fryer’s arrival, I used my Instant Pot to cook a whole chicken. I added more liquid so I would have some good broth–and with some of the meat, the broth, some frozen veggies, and some cooked veggies in my refrigerator, I made a whole pot of soup.

The soup was nourishing and made for two days of easy meals. The extra meat I used to vary the soup with some fresh salads.

I am making progress on hand-quilting Traverse, which I’m very much enjoying. I got in a lot of sewing time on it this past week while waiting downstairs for the electric and Whirlpool techies to show up. (Upstairs I can’t hear the doorbell.) I sewed and listened to my favorite music one day and an ongoing book another day.

My stitches are getting better with Tara Faughnan’s quilting method, and the back of the quilt is starting to look interesting. I like my strategy of keeping thread colors quiet on the front since I don’t want to take away or hide the patterns or colors in each row. So far I have most of the right colors for the colors in the quilt.

I’m happy. And now, hungry. It is time to organize my dinner and make my supper salad. I’m going to try roasting some cauliflower and carrot in the Ninja Air Fryer.

The Salt Marsh

Between the Mt. Pleasant, in Charleston County in South Carolina, and the string of outer barrier islands, lies a wide salt marsh.

Beaches and sand dune systems form on the side of a barrier island facing the ocean; the side facing the shore often contains marshes, tidal flats, and maritime forests.

The salt marsh here is beautiful, and here is a link to some pictures of salt marshes. I wanted to stop on the connector highway to take a picture for you, but I don’t feel safe to stop on the side of the busy connector, never mind getting out of the car.

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=south%20carolina%20salt%20marsh

When I arrived here last December, the salt marsh was dormant. The grasses had died back and were brown. Now they are a lush and tall verdant green.

The areas between the islands and the mainland are “tidal flat” wetlands. They can be mostly mud if near where a river comes into the sea. They are “swamps” if trees and big shrubs are involved. And they are salt marshes if they open, grassy, and lined with ribbons of canals.

These salt marshes are the ecological guardians of the coast. Their grassy and sinuous channels fill and drain with saltwater as the tides ebb and flow, providing food, shelter, and nursery grounds for birds, fish, and other wildlife, ranging from dolphins and otters to snails and turtles. 

Healthy salt marshes cleanse the water by filtering runoff, and help other ecosystems, including oyster reefs and seagrass beds, thrive. Conserving salt marsh helps people, too. Marshes can reduce erosion, stabilize shorelines, protect against storm surge, and support species that are crucial to recreational and commercial fishing, hunting, birding, and other activities.

The above information is in the link below, if you want to read more.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2021/03/01/11-facts-about-salt-marshes-and-why-we-need-to-protect-them#:~:text=Marshes%20can%20reduce%20erosion%2C%20stabilize,%2C%20birding%2C%20and%20other%20activities.

Then and Now: My House

Recently I looked at pictures of my new house–just while searching for another picture. Here’s my home back in November when I put a contingency contract on it and was waiting for my Maine home to sell.

Here it is in late December when I closed on this new home and was waiting for my furniture to come from Maine. The lawn is sodded, but the Centipede grass was dormant. It will do that again this winter.

I took this picture the other day–with the new Crape Myrtle in place of the Willow Oak planted by the developer. Look at the size of the azaleas and hollies out front now. They are thriving. I’ve worked so hard on the grass with hand weeding and fertilizing and watering–and it shows. It’s now like a deep carpet in most places.

And you can’t see them from the street yet, but the 20 little Dwarf Mexican Petunias are thriving, growing, and starting to bloom. This morning three more had flowers that had opened.

They are all the pretty violet/blue I wanted.

It is a bit cooler here these past few days. And we’ve had good rain, but I’m going out to water the new Crape Myrtle now as it does not have a developed root system yet.

Sharp Knives

In Maine, I used a man called a “grinder” to sharpen knives and scissors to perfection. The knives I took once a year or so and then sharpened with one of those metal sharpening rods (a “honing rod”) as needed.

But here I have not needed yet to track down a person or place that sharpens knives. And, honestly, back in Maine or Virginia, dropping knives off at a store where they are sent out somewhere wasn’t ideal. I’ll call one of the local quilt shops here to find out who sharpens their scissors. That’s how I found the Maine grinder.

But, a Maine friend told me she had purchased an electric sharpener recently. I used to have one of those, and in time it wore out. I didn’t know they wore out but they do. My friend told me the one she bought. Like me, she cooks a lot and loves having sharp knives.

When I read the comments online at Amazon about the one she got, people loved it, but a few comments educated me about the angles these kinds of sharpeners use. Different sharpeners use different sharpening angles–often from the same manufacturer as people “in the know” do prefer one or the other. Who knew?

I settled on this one–as apparently its angle made a sharper knife edge. It will also sharpen serrated knives. And, it was a bit cheaper too. And note that there are VERY precise and exact instructions for sharpening knives. VERY. You don’t just run knife through the left two sides–often one only needs the far right slide–like with serrated knives.

Oh boy! My knives are SHARP! I even tried my steak knives–which were a wedding present back in 1966, so they are 57 years old now and have never been sharpened. They had serrated edges at the point for about an inch that were mostly worn away–so I just sharpened them as usual. (Their blades could use a polish session.)

Oh my heavens!! They are so sharp now–and a pleasure to use. I would have never taken these all to a grinder to sharpen. It never occurred to me.

This one I sharpened too–the sharpener sharpens the points on a serrated knife.

The grinder in Maine was not horribly expensive, and he also sharpened scissors. But the cost of doing all my knives and scissors did mount up over time. This new sharpener is cost effective from that standpoint.

So, now, I’ll figure out the scissors. As you all might know now, LOL, I sew and cut a lot. Some of my sewing scissors have a partially serrated blade which must NOT be sharpened.

Also, as you might know, all people who do sharpening work are NOT equal. You have to find a good one. That’s why I’ll call the quilt shops.

And I will, sooner rather than later so I’m ready when the need arises.

Hello Traverse!

Sorry to be absent these past days. A niece I have not seen in 10 years visited.

Hello Traverse!

I’ve started hand-quilting her as the last work on the quilt from hell (“Happy”) is done and it is ready to be basted on the longarm to prep it for hand quilting.

I treated myself to an online class with Tara Faughnan about her method of hand quilting–she pretty much hand quilts most of her quilts. And like me, she uses thicker threads and bigger stitches. But, her stitches are so much better than mine–back and front.

I’m starting with the orange stripe in the middle of the quilt. I want the hand quilting to be present for texture, but I do not want to overwhelm the quilt so that I take away its charm. So, I’m sticking to keeping thread color as close as I can to the fabrics that are being quilted.

Already my stitches are so much better. I’m practicing new skills, so my fingers have to relearn what they used to do. And I have a sore finger from feeling for the needle. So, soon, I hope, it will be “hello callus.” That’s a size 6 Embroidery needle made by Tulip. Right now it seems perfect. I have some smaller sizes (which have bigger numbers, LOL), but the Artisan shot cotton in this quilt is heavier than a lot of fabrics, so the bigger needle feels better.

And my back stitches look SO MUCH better now.

I’m using a mixture of threads that are all 12-weight cotton. Over the years I’ve collected a lot of these threads (Sulky, Wonderfil, and others), so I have a great selection of colors. The Wonderfil is thicker than the Sulky.

For these heavier threads, I think Tara Faughnan is right about using Thread Magic as a conditioner. It is heavier and stands up better. For thinner threads, like the 50-wts and smaller, which I would use for binding, I do like the Sew Fine better. It just seems to tangle less with the thinner threads.

Here’s my new thimble–note the raised top. And I mark for the most part with a Hera marker.

I did purchase Tara’s Wonderfil 12-wt, 3-ply, “Spaghetti” thread collection from her shop. These colors are ones she uses a lot, and they are in the quilt.

Here’s a recent picture. I’ve almost completed two rows. I’ll do the yellow row next so I can better practice the running stitch.

So, I’m off and running with this anticipated project!