I Like Thursday # 257

 

It's apparently too hot for tomatoes to flower here, but my wildflowers are doing well and I am enjoying them a lot...in a pot... on the pot-io

4 bat blocks done and pumpkins are being made!

I'm doing a mystery quilt called Bats and Boos provided by FatQuarterShop... lots of fun because I'm using my stash of cool fabrics and the pattern tells you exactly what to do. Of course my fabrics might not work in the finished design but then I'll just do my own thing with the cute blocks!

 

I'm taking an online creativity workshop this week... from Elizabeth Foley (www.radiantearthstudios.com)There are guest presenters and all are giving us ways to overcome roadblocks to creativity. 

this week's coloring page on the calendar:

I like how the bottom roof came out. Layers of color. Start with ocher gold, add in yellow, red, gray shadows, and it looks like I'd like it to. Watercolor pens and pencils with water added to blend.
 

enjoying on tv:

well, the 70's are baaaack with Fantasy Island... (dvr'd it for later) I like Miracle Workers, NYC housewives, Potomac Housewives, Love Island, Big Brother, movies on Netflix, the bachelorette showed her worst side this week in the finale... I should stop watching but it's a train wreck.

Reading 

 

a very good story about a woman who discovers her birth father left her a vineyard... 

Listening to the 5th in series of kilts and quilts books, good to listen to in studio

I like this video a quote from this short video says their pack taught them it's okay to be friends with someone who is different from you... they taught me more about love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z-6CZrVGY8
 

fine dining... this recipe for french toast... I never liked the french toast I had as a child but this is a yummy miracle of breakfast food! 

crispy on the outside, we all three decided to finish it off in one go! I did make a half recipe, which made 5 slices. Milo wanted to know why he got only one... sorry, greed and gluttony darling!

wine we enjoyed this week was Stella Rosa Watermelon... a bit sweet with a taste of melon

 

I've been watching videos on how to look more vibrant as we age... this one was very very good for knowing just how to part your hair, how to balance an uneven face because lets face it, not many of us are perfectly symetrical!

Milo's Moments

 

"cat"??? Where!???

 I like my mama but something weird is going on here. Mama sits and stares at a little talking thing sometimes(zoom on ipad). It talks, then she talks, and sometimes the voices say "Hi Milo!" 

I mean what am I supposed to do, bark back to make Mama feel like she's not crazy for talking to it? 

This week she was talking to one, and I hear " meow!" and the word "cat", which means "small furry thing that runs away"

(Mama: Suze in Florida showed me her rescue cats and her home)

I ran to the door but didn't see any cats! I mean, Mama can't see as good as I do, like she can't see critters in our yard at night like I do.  I kept hearing "meow" and "cat" but no cats were in the yard and Mama just kept staring at the computer like she didn't care there was a cat in the yard! 

I just don't know, maybe she's gone crazy being alone too much. There is only so much a poodle can do to keep her occupied! talking to machines...

pray for her y'all.  

We have a new contributor to the "I Like " Family this week, welcome:

Kim at  http://inmywords.kimdeister.com/

and these other kind people have lists to share, please visit them to see their lists this week!

 grammajudyb.blogspot.com

   http://littlepenguinquilts

http://3poodlesandanana.blogspot.com  

 

 http://www.piecefulthoughts.com

 craftscaviescontras
https://www.homesewnbyus.com/

 
https://knittingquilter.blogspot.com/    

 the knitty quilter

 

https://quiltschmilt.wordpress.com/blog-posts/    

http://dreamworthyquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://scrapatches.blogspot.com/    

https://whataboutrheema.blogspot.com/   

https://faithtrustandbreastcancer.blogspot.com/

  http://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/

https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/  

 https://lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com/  

LINKING TO

rosie and the boys nature pics   

 friday smiles at a stitch in time

https://brianshomeblog.com/ 

https://www.knitbygodshand.com/

http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com
http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/ 

Sunday Questions for fun

 

Sunday questions from Sunday Stealing (https://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/)

1.  What is the nearest book to you?  Your Kindle does not count.

Almost Everything by Anne Lamott.

 I am reading and listening to audio books on my kindle app mostly since the shutdown however. I really like series, am listening to Laura Child's teashop mystery at the moment, while I work in the studio.

2.  When was the last time you took a "me" vacation

they're all for me or it's not a vacation. The last one was to CT, before we moved West. My favorites were our yearly visit to Lake Placid. Best work related vacay was to Santa Barbara when dh was offered a job there.

3.  How many telephone numbers do you have?

not as many as some people, but I have the numbers of good friends who are fun to talk to and service providers we might need

4.  If you could fix one thing in the public school system, what is the one thing you would do immediately?
teach critical thinking skills. Americans seem to have stumbled in how to use factual information and decide if info is reputable or someone's hidden agenda. For instance when many police officers testify the same thing and there is real footage of same event that corroborates it, then it happened.

5.  What's your favorite Olympic event?

Curling... then skating and now artistic swimming! Did you catch that? All the fab costumes and athleticism needed to stay upside down in the water, not breathing while in danger of being given a concussion from being kicked in the head? Awesome!

6.  Do you watch the Olympics?

always. I love the odd events and always try to see some of each thing. This year sailing was new to me, canoe thru rapids, fencing (why the screaming) skateboarding (are you kidding me?) and rhythmic gymnastics (adults playing with hula hoops) all new to me. I enjoy learning about countries I've never heard of, seeing the joy of an athlete doing their best, and the NZ team doing a Haka after winning soccer. 

7.  Who is your favorite sports team player?

The footballer Rashad Jennings who was on the dating game recently, has such nice manners, is pretty outstandingly attractive, was on Dancing with the stars, wrote a book and is studying to be a marriage counselor. He's got it all. I never saw him play football!

8.  If you could travel in a spaceship to any planet, which planet would you like to visit and why?

ewww none.... earth is all I can handle and I can't handle it well now that the climate has gone crazy from humans

9.  When was the last time you sat in a church?

a grief ceremony at a church in Newport RI while we were on a long weekend visit. We had just lost our beloved poodle Cole, our son for 14 years. The minister was lovely to us. 

I pray and am a Christian but organized religions are not for me. Again, I believe in critical thinking skills and pray for guidance, but do not want another human to tell me how to be a good person, or that I'm not. That was my experience, and I even went to a church college one year. I believe each person seeking God will find God.

10.  Are there any aspects of blogging that annoy you?

Blogger has made it all much harder than it was when I began, so that sometimes it's a struggle to even post. I am down to basically two posts a week, a list of things I liked that week on Thursdays, and artistic offerings on Saturdays. And I do love doing the questions here, and the others who answer them too.

11. Have you ever gone to a party and snooped in the medicine cabinet? no, too busy meeting people, dancing, eating and drinking for that!

12.Do you watch reality TV? Oh I love many of them. Reality tv is really news shows though, the others are competition shows with real people and I enjoy watching them. I also love the Bravo Housewives franchises. Otherwise I like Survivor, Amazing Race, American Idol, Jeopardy, Bachelor, Making it, Project Runway, Top Chef, lots.

13.  How many people can you call who have known you since you were in school?

I really only keep up with one, we've been friends since 4th grade all through high school, college years and today. I keep up with one I taught alongside as well.

14. Who, when, and where was your first kiss?

speaking of first grade... Ricky P. kissed me by the fence at recess! We met again years later as teachers and he remembered it too! Otherwise, if you mean romantically... I can't remember really but suspect it was high school. I remember who I learned how to really kiss with, a band member and church friend Dennis... we practiced and I think we could have won a contest.

15. You just got thrown out of your country.  Where do you want to become a citizen?

Canada first. I loved living there for a while and loved the people I met there. Next, we've thought about moving to France, not Paris, somewhere quiet. 

When I found out I was adopted I found out my birth father was first gen American from Italian family so I'd like to try living there and finding family. Earl Cerone was his name I think but my spelling is no doubt wrong, do you know him?

 

Sewing Saturday

 

I have been mostly sewing on the kaleidoscope quilt this week and would rather wait to show you the top finished. So.... these are two little sweaters in the color of the month, sort of since it's hard to identify. I think Angela at rainbow scrap challenge said turquoise or aqua or something between blue and green. 

When I looked it up, I read the color cyan is a mix of blue and green and there is talk of it here

https://colorpsychologymeaning.com/color-turquoise/

My favorite shirt falls in this color range, and I love turquoise  in general. The page above says if one really likes this color :

"They’re more interested in doing their own thing and self expression rather than trying to fit in with or follow the crowd. Even though they’re bright colors that stands out, a wearer would probably not be looking for attention, simply wishing to express themselves without looking for the approval or opinions of others.You have an ability to see things clearly and objectively, you don’t let personal biases affect your decisions or way of thinking.

You find focusing on one task at a time boring, you prefer to undertake multiple tasks."

which brings me back to this week's post! 

 

While making decisions about the direction this would go, and it's difficult sometimes to make a choice as it then limits the choice making! Does that make sense to you? Until I make a choice it's all open to me... but I also love to finish things so after a lot of auditions of different blues, 

they all have a different tone... and this isn't all I tried!

 I chose  two to look like a bright autumn sky, and think I want the border pretty simple so I can focus on the center. 

 while pondering these decisions I started sewing leftover strata together for fun

My little bin is AQUA too!

for instance when cutting out the strata for one piece with a dash of bright yellow, these little shards were left. 

Of course I kept them!

note their size against the 1" grid above. I kept sewing them together til that ADORABLE little flower like thing emerged. This might me my favorite surprise. 

they aren't all the same size but I just sewed them together and loved seeing the fabrics in larger amounts. Ricky Tims Kaleidoscope pattern requires that you let go and let the pieces fall where they may, and enjoy the ride. I was sad that some pretty fabrics came down to a splash of color however the whole thing on my wall is breathtaking to me! Can't wait to show you the top finished! 

 

when looking at the cutaway leftovers, I decided to trim some down to a diamond shape, and wanted them all the same angles and sizes so I got out the temporary tape to tell me where to cut

 

not sure what this will be yet but I like the way this looks for something.

so I basically move the bits around til I get a little excited feeling from them, and sometimes sew them without plan, sometimes trim into a shape like the diamond. They will turn into something for sure.
 

I have 25- 60 degree diamonds to turn into a runner, a lot of small wedges like above to turn into starlike fans to put into something, three  improv  pieces that could be mug rugs for fall. 

 I have sandwiched the purple mountain piece, the 9-patch runner, and the green and purple floral improv so they are all waiting to be over-quilted! I had to do the kaleidoscope this week since the class was going on (I think you can find the sessions on youtube now) but there's a lot of fun ahead. 

It's still very hot and summer but fall will come eventually and I love those colors too

wildflower seeds in a big pot

So this week was one of using my stash of larger fabrics in the strata, then one of using the "new" scraps from that piece, plus getting ready to quilt some work from last month. I listened to two books on audio while sewing this week so I'm "reading too" and caught a good bit of Olympics as well. 

Did you see the artistic swimming? Now the bizarre rhythmic gymnastics is going.

Women multitask

                                                                     Linking with

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

https://scrapatches.blogspot.com/

 

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts
lovelaughquilt.mondays

patchwork Sunday                    
oh Scrap Sundays 

                                                                scrap happy Saturdays

I Like Thursday # 256

 

Welcome to this week's list of likes... I love the wildflowers growing from seeds sown in a pot on the patio...

We have an app that tells you what a flower is, the pink ones are something called mountain garland, the blue is cornflower or bachelor buttons, the yellow are coreopsis, the beautiful white I'm not sure but they are so fresh!

Speaking of fresh we love reisling in summer:

I loved the bottle of reisling we  tried recently...

wouldn't it make a fine quilting pattern? 

I am LOVING the synchronized swimming competitions! From the pairs prancing out in unison before starting to the athleticism required to thrust a swimmer out of the water without touching the bottom of the pool, to the extreme costumes of sparkles! Maybe it's the fact they come out of the water without being wet... how do they do that?I watched the pairs but then caught this USA team on youtube

Watching on TV

We watched episodes of Miracle Workers, Book club (on BBC) and I am enjoying Love Island, Big Brother, Bachelorette, Housewives on Bravo, and being able to watch Olympic events on demand on cable.  I saw wonderful gymnastics, horse dressage, canoe (kayak) thru rapids, and that really dramatic synchronized swimming.

hearing books read aloud to me while I am in studio

just finished this and it was really good... the reader was fun, the story line enjoyable, characters were believable... set in England, mystery at a hat shop

 

also finished listening to

 

 speaking of studio time, I've been working on my Fall kaleidoscope and at first I didn't like it but now I love it... more on Saturday hopefully... these are some leftover scraps from making it...

there is too much waste in the kaleidoscope by Ricky Tims but it's awesome once made! I'll use those scraps, in fact while piecing the fussy cut pattern, I took breaks to play with the odd leftover pieces! 

Keeps me off the streets

speaking of small things to like, I dither too much over fabric choices so I'm happy I was able to decide what to border the quilt with (like matting a painting to my non quilting friends) so I can finish it!

 fine dining

a few recipes, first an appetizer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmHeB20d0QE

this is good, oats, eggs, vegetables, milk... we decided it was a fine breakfast and had it all week! I changed buttermilk for the milk, and regular flour for the oat flour but used whole oats as called for. 

 

The other dining experiment was  dh's birthday cake full of sugar and chocolate! 

By far the BEST chocolate cake I've ever made or eaten.

 Moist with good texture:

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/buttermilk-cocoa-cake/

uses buttermilk in the cake and icing. The icing was too much for us, way too much. The whole cake is full of butter and sugar.... unhealthy but a perfect birthday treat! 

next recipe is OLD SCHOOL teacakes. My grandmother always had these on hand when I came to visit and I adored them... sort of sweet, sort of like a cross between a cookie and a biscuit.

 haven't tried them yet but I will...

 

we watched a movie Saturday night... we started two others first.

 The first one looked great but was only in Africans so we turned to the next movie that turned out to be  geared to kids. The third one: Kodachrome was excellent!

 was very good. It tackled real life feelings, growth, finding meaning and humor in dire circumstances. The three lead actors were wonderfully real. Both of us were engrossed in the story line. 

I miss using film actually... 

how some critters cool off in this heat

first get a baby pool...

Kisses are good...

Milo's Moments

Hiya Mama!

 I like lots of things including tugowar with Mama because I always win!

Mama: mayben not this time since you've pulled the skin off I have a handle!

Milo: good point but I do have three rings, heh heh. I always win!!!

Sometimes I sits and thinks, sometimes I just sits

each day Milo comes up for the ritual of my dressing for the day. Like my other poodle Cole he watched and sized me up to see what the day would bring by my choice of clothing.

Milo: okay... I see how this is shaping up... shorts, t-shirt, no socks... we're staying home again today right? 

Mama: it's our new normal so yep. 

Milo: oh. I guess this means no rideinnacar. No craft festivals or trips or walks some place new

Mama: right. It's not safe. Even vaccinated people are carrying around the virus in their noses with no symptoms to warn us, so they can transmit it to people like Mama with immune issues so... home again. (hugging Milo, and giving him a pet)

Milo:Mama! You've got lotion on your hands!!! Now I smell like a human, ewwww! I tole you 'bout that... no touching the poodle with lotion hands!

Mama: well no one will know since we'll be home again

please visit these people with lists of likes too! Join us, or one of the other link parties keeping it happy!

grammajudyb.blogspot.com

   http://littlepenguinquilts

http://3poodlesandanana.blogspot.com  

 

 http://www.piecefulthoughts.com

 craftscaviescontras
https://www.homesewnbyus.com/

 
https://knittingquilter.blogspot.com/    

 the knitty quilter

 

https://quiltschmilt.wordpress.com/blog-posts/    

http://dreamworthyquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://scrapatches.blogspot.com/    

https://whataboutrheema.blogspot.com/   

https://faithtrustandbreastcancer.blogspot.com/

  http://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/

https://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com/  

 https://lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com/  

LINKING TO

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

rosie and the boys nature pics 

  friday smiles at a stitch in time

https://www.knitbygodshand.com/ 

https://brianshomeblog.com/ 
http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com
http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/ 

some fun questions...

 

 these are the questions from Sunday Stealing this week. I decided to only answer the ones that mean something to me...feel free to answer them too. Wouldn't it be fun to answer them around a dinner table together?

1. Have Your Ever Driven Drunk Or Even Slightly Buzzed? no
2. What Was The Funniest Moment In Your Life?
3. What Kind Of Things Really Makes You Laugh?
4. If You Could Jump Into A Pool Full Of Something, What Would It Be? ick

5. Which Habit Are You Proudest Of Breaking?

thumb sucking as a child... it was soothing and I didn't sleep well while trying to stop

6. Which Animal Do You Find The Sexiest Of All?

7. What’s The Weirdest Nickname You’ve Ever Had?

" legs" not because of  pretty legs although I do have dancer's legs, but from a field trip on a train from Florida to Washington DC with the band to march in the cherry blossom parade. Our seats faced each other and I kicked the others because they teased me. 

8, What Do You Wish You Were Really Good At?

foreign languages

 
9. If You Were A Dog, What Kind Of Dog Would You Be?

I'd say a labrador retriever... wanna play? or eat? I do I do!

10. What’s The Most Spontaneous Thing You’ve Ever Done?

When we reached our destination of Yellowstone park it was dark, rainy and the power was out all around. A group gathered at the only store, for something to eat that night. Two guys on massive motorcycles and my friend and I began chatting. After a while we talked of their cross country bike ride and one offered to take me for a ride. I sized him up, trusted him and got on. It was the scariest thing, probably the stupidest thing in the world but he was lovely and I would never have done that in other circumstances, and he brought me right back. 

11. If You Had A Time Machine, Would You Go Back In Time Or Visit The Future?

back, I want so much to feel what life was like in the past

12. What Was The Last Show You Binge-Watched?

we're watching Book Club on BBC now... zany characters

13. If You Had To Rename Yourself, What Name Would You Choose?
14. What Did You Do During The Summers When You Were Growing Up?

I remember playing outside a lot, bikes, skating, skateboarding, painting while sitting on a blanket on the grass, making up games with friends. When older I visiting my grown sister's family for a month wherever they were living. I watched a lot of tv, read a lot, and sometimes took classes in art. I got to stay up late, the best part. We often went on vacation from Florida to North Carolina's mountains and I rolled down hills, picked wild blackberries, hiked, and played outside in the creek. 

15. If You Go To A Restaurant And Have Terrible Service, Is It Ever OK Not To Tip?

I don't know if it's okay, but I have done. I left 50 cents once from rude poor service. The waitress showed the first energy we'd seen as she chased us out in the parking lot and threw it at us. She was bad and rude all night. I think if she was just bad service we might have left minimum percent. That was when I was very young adult, now I would call the manager over instead.

Here is the link to other people's answers https://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/

 

Sewing Saturday... table scraps! and more...

 

It's been a busy week in studio! I'll just start with this month's "table scraps" mug rug. I left out one cabana when making last month's summer beach quilt... and made it into a mug rug for my friend Lane in Tampa. 

She and I grew up together, starting from elementary school, through high school band trips and her family often invited me to spend their beach week with them. She and I had many adventures over the years, many of them at the beach, so of course I made a momento for her. 

She is also a nurse so I used some nurse fabric to make a smaller coaster too. 

Sewing wise, the blue fabric border is seashells, I did a quick envelop turn (self binding) edge treatment on both. Cabana pattern (minus hat, lady and flag) from Moda row by row book.

 For other work this week I sandwiched the blue and green petals improv piece, and it's ready for quilting.

 I chose a border in a lovely hoffman golden stars on cream fabric for the 9-patch neutrals piece and it's ready to quilt, 

I suppose technically it's the shape of a table runner but I originally planned for it to be a bed runner accent piece. I found some more little solid color squares this size, more than I had of these, so maybe those will turn into a bed runner.
 

and started a Kaleidoscope quilt along in fall fabrics.

I have a drawer of cute fall fabrics but this strata based quilt needs long cuts and a lot  of mine are fat quarters so I chose a few to start with, and mixed in blue, purple, red, gold, brown, green and beige fabrics to blend with them. 

 I made a kaleidoscope Christmas quilt one year, so this is technically "re-learning". I know when it all gets cut up and resewn the pieces often break down into colors mostly so I made sure the fall designs were cut into thicker strips and  the pretty colors show up as accents like little pieces of glass in a real kaleidoscope. 

double strips ready to sew into two identical strata

 You start with strata, differing width strips, then after drafting angular patterns you will cut out template shapes from the dual strata sections. 

four double strata, the last one not ironed yet, done out of 5 needed

 

This is not an improv quilt, each 1/16th of an inch matters, and you lose the effect if not precise. 

The fact that I made mug rugs, a traditional style 9-patch, an improv art quilt, and now working on a precisely pieced intricate puzzle quilt shows how versatile this artform is!  

It's supposed to be a leetle bit cooler today so I hope to bake my husband a birthday cake... but the studio is calling too!

 I really want to make this... not today but one day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh-Wl5nB598

look at this clever EPP portable sewing tray!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UmVRrdd9A
 

LINKING TO

finished or not 

can I get a whoop whoop Fridays  

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

https://scrapatches.blogspot.com/

 

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts
lovelaughquilt.mondays

patchwork Sunday                    
oh Scrap Sundays 

https://thejoyfulquilter.blogspot.com/2021/07/july-2021-table-scraps-runnertopper.html

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/