Think I have it.....retreat bound

No sewing today---yet. I have been messing around in EQ to figure out a layout for the abandoned blocks quilt top. There are still blocks leftover so I know another one is on the horizon from the original pile that I had--more butterflies, Wyoming Stars and so forth. My mom is sending me a few more blocks in a box heading down this way soon. In the meantime, I can cut the checkboard stuff and start assembling this. Not sure about that band of sashed flying geese but it probably does add some horizontal interest--not necessarily in those colors either. What can you do that is 4 inches wide by 36 inches long?

The doorbell rang yesterday and our neighbor two houses down handed DJ a big sack of green beans and other with okra and cukes. I HAD to get the appliqued blocks for the "due soon row" stitched down so was not ready to deal with these goodies from the garden just then. I got done with my obligations in time to give DJ a haircut and then he helped me snap beans while I prepped the cukes. My wrists I noticed are not very happy with me today for all that snapping, LOL. Good eatin though--funny thing is that we had prepared frozen green beans on our leftover plates for supper. I scraped those things off so we could make room for the fresh ones. There is no comparison.

I blanched most of the beans for the freezer but had no clue what to do with the fresh okra. I think that if I have eaten any of it, it has been the sliced and frozen variety and just a little bit of it to toss in gumbo or my version of jambalaya. BUT computer to the rescue for that too.

I will be gone to the quilt retreat in Collinsville from Friday morning till Sunday afternoon. My friend Joy is hosting this with help from Debora. The main thing is the reveal for the row robins. Debora is teaching a mini-session on needle turn applique too--trust me, I can use all the help I can get. Some of the bunch is going up today so they are probably hard at it already but I had my reasons for waiting to go till tomorrow. There will be a few new people joining in the next row that I have not met but I am not sure that I want to participate again. I am busy enough that it seems like I always end up putting it off till the last minute and I don't need another UFO project. Plus it sounds like the theme is already been set by the organizer---what if I don't want a holiday or seasonal project??

DJ and I went to Lone Star Steakhouse for lunch today as tomorrow is my birthday. One thing I cannot cook properly is steak so why not let the experts fix it instead? I still need to pack my overnight bag and gather up some of the quilting odds and ends. Put away the laundry. Oh, and get the stuff together for the applique thing. Catch you when I get back...........