A Mid-Week Update: September 2023

Good Morning!

It’s Wednesday, and I’ll be off to the Wando Library this morning to meet the Patchwork Gals, who meet there once a month. They are a “splinter” group of the regional Cobblestone Quilters group.

I actually went to the Wando library to “rent” more books yesterday morning. I can buy, for $1 each, books featured on a kiosk in the library. After I’m done, I return the books so they can be recirculated again. Here’s what I brought home yesterday.

I’m reading the Oysterville Sewing Circle, by Susan Wiggs. She’s a new author for me, and trying out new authors or revisiting ones I know is…fun.

And, here is my current book marker: a recent card from friend Betsy Maislen, who made this gorgeous “Hunter’s Star” quilt designed by Bonnie Hunter.

I started loading the “Summer Camp” mystery quilt on the longarm yesterday. The next step is to baste it before quilting it.

And I’m making progress with hand-quilting Traverse. I started in the middle and am nearing the end of one side. That gold bar below the green crosses is about half way.

I’m liking the use of thread colors that don’t stand out and the texture that is developing. AND, my stitches on the back are getting better as my hands learn Tara Faughnan’s method of quilting with a bigger needle, thicker threads, and without a hoop. (She has a good online class on hand quilting.)

I did finish the dark gold row above last night and am thinking about how to quilt that next big bar.

Back in Maine, when I had packed up all my quilting things for moving, I set up a little sewing area and started piecing 1 1/2 and 2-inch squares that I had cut from the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society project. The 1 1/2 squares went into four-patch blocks, light and dark. So when “Summer Camp” came off the design wall (which I vacuumed yesterday), I got out the bin with the four patch blocks and started sewing some together to create an 8-inch block.

Yes, but maybe this way…if I have enough squares to do something like 3 by 3 rows. These are just pinned, not sewn. I can see one of the 2-inch 4-patches as the corner stones. But who knows?

Meanwhile, the Mexican sage plant burst into bloom. That plant is new to me. (It got thirsty before the recent rain, thus the yellow? Unless it is getting ready to go dormant as it is now fall?)

The blooms are quite awesome, aren’t they?

And with the cooler weather, I’ve been walking more–but on the shady side of this mostly quiet road that runs outside my development. There are two schools on the left side, and my development is ahead about 1/4 mile on an entry road to the left.

Enjoy your day today, everyone!