this and that on a Friday

DJ went out as the sun was lowering behind the tree line and discovered that the UPS driver had left me a box.  I'll tell you, my mom knows how to stuff a shoe box, LOL.

Not sure what I will do with this stack as it sort of depends on how much is left of the fabric---there is a blend-y sort of thing going on though with a few of the pieces.  Naptime, maybe??  If not, there are a few nice pieces of neutral background.  I think Mom may have added two pieces that I did not have set aside but that's okay too.   Some re-arranging of boxes on her end left had her wondering, she said.

That lovely, cheerful floral on the left is a  Hoffman "Country Side Collection" piece.  I'm thinking it might make up into a 4 patch posie??  Isn't that the fun part of quilting to pull out fabrics till you find a combination that will work together?  Already I am eyeing a blue tone and tone on the shelf, LOL.    Lois had recently used some 4 patch posie elements as block centers of one of her tops.  I'll point that out when it is turned in because I did not get a picture at the time.

A glimpse at the design wall----mostly leftovers and future projects.  Christmas blocks for the stalled out Oxmoor Christmas quilt.  The strip is a section of binding for my Christmas Patience Corner.  Leftover bowties from the 76 Bowtie QOV--that will work with with the next abandoned block project along with the various other nine patches etc stuck up there.  The plain squares are for quilt labels.  The just finished basket block is hanging for me to see before I put it up with the others and pull another out to stitch.  The two ziploc bags?  One is squares I pulled to make a few "Fight Like a Quilter" blocks for a fund raiser.  I like the blocks so may make more for a pro bono quilt so I did not file the cut squares back into the 2 1/2 inch square container.  Lastly, greens that my friend Pat sent for the paint chip challenge----I see watermelons in their future as in Button Up #8.  

Those foundation pieced flowers were something I started years ago from one of Carol Doak's books, Easy Mix & Match Machine Paper Piecing.  Now this was copyright 1995 and I bought it as a new book at the time.  Yep, old project and I remember stitching on it at Hands All Around Quilt Retreat near Lake Shelbyville in Illinois. I planned to make a wall hanging she showed on the back cover with butterflies, a sun, snails in the grassy area.  Well here is a link to the image.  Once upon a time I had all 6 flowers done but two of them wound up in a row robin for a friend on the old aCozyQuilt Bee list.  I think that the sky blue fabric has been used elsewhere over the years so these four may be "it" and added to another project down the line.

Here I am holding up Lauri's row---bad picture as I had a crappy digital camera at the time.  Lauri had a garden theme going and wanted the bright fabrics she had provided as alternating blocks.  I stitched up the Pieces from My Heart blocks from Sandy Gervais that said ""What Flowers?".  The dragonfly and frog blocks were slightly re-sized from Quilts from the Heartland Nature of Things, I believe it was called.  The lady bugs were also from that book but was actually a wall hanging that I scaled down to a 12 inch block.  And then you see the other two flowers on the bottom.

So back to present day, LOL.   I have not done much but re-organize files on the computer..... and read.  I had picked up a used paperback from Mom's stash Barbara Parker's Suspicion of Innocence for reading on the plane and finished it up  We picked up a couple more of the series at the library the other day.   DJ is reading the first one now.  I also buzzed through Kate Jacob's Comfort Food on Wednesday afternoon and evening.  I enjoy reading but often do not make time to do so.  Some days, it is all I can do to get through the local paper . When I get on a reading jag, it reminds me of summertime and going up to the town library a couple times a week because you had read through the stack you had checked out days before.  


This summer cold and the heat have been energy sapping so the cutting and batting fusing that I had mentioned in my last post did not get done.  I told DJ he is just lucky that I have gotten meals on the table as lousy as I have felt at times.  But the laundry is done, groceries bought-----I am going to live, LOL.  I do hope to get something done today though as I hate wasting time and I hate having stuff piled up in here too.  That action really stifles my creativity when I don't have space to work and need the table or whatever under that pile.

It looks like a good part of the USA lower 48 are going to be in extreme heat situation if we are not already.  I just pray that there are no heat related fatalities with the sustained weather pattern.  I know my parents said it hit triple digits in IL---we were at 96 yesterday but fortunately without high humidity factors.  The a/c can barely keep up even set at 79.  I cooked  on the stove top, grill and microwave last night and still could barely stand to be in the kitchen though by that time the afternoon sun is barreling into the opposite side of the house. Now,even with the blinds drawn it is HOT in the kitchen with the sun on that side.  I am avoiding doing the prep work for the fish tacos with avocado sauce I plan on making for tonight.  The sauce and fresh tomato salsa should be done up ahead of time to meld the flavors a bit so I will go out there and blast a box fan while I do it.  No jalapeno peppers here though and I am putting the fish on the grill.  Skyler also is begging for his 2nd treat bite which he normally gets around noon if DJ does it but I am a softer touch and he knows it, LOL.  

Stay cool the best you can---and thanks for stopping by.