HOT!

Today is supposed to be the hottest day we've had in this part of the world since 1981. Or maybe ever. I may have to retreat to the beach and take my chances with encountering sunscreen and bug spray on other folks.


I worked up a sweat earlier just by going out and watering the few plants I want to save during this heat wave/drought. At least we're not in Texas.

I finally managed to do a bit of sewing yesterday. It's wasn't what I was planning to work on but at least I did something!

I've been struggling to pull together a color palette for another needlebook. I thought that by making one of these little birds it might trigger some ideas. So far nothing has happened.

This little guy still needs his eyes and a hanging loop. I can't promise he'll get them today; I may end up spending the day in front of the fan with a good book.

Think cool thoughts!

Refreshed Perspective

Things are looking better to me again. DH and I didn't take the little road trip we thought we might but we did get out and about briefly, and look what we found!

The downtown merchants held their annual sidewalk sale Friday and Saturday. We only went to one store because I was looking for something specific (which I found - hurray!), but how could we pass this up when it was only $10?! Obviously it's meant for Halloween but it will likely stay out year round in this house. ;- ) It glows orange when it's plugged into the wall. I almost like it better when it's just sitting there, unplugged.

Every once in a while I pick the head up off its' base and turn it upside down to redistribute the glitter. This is the most fun I've had with a snow globe since I was a kid!

I have almost made the decision to drop out of the Birds of a Feather challenge. There are a couple of other projects that, frankly, are more important to me and my muse seems to be calling me in another direction anyway. We'll see how that develops. In the meantime I have managed to get these blocks made for my Parts Department:

And this six inch star for a new journal quilt I have in mind:

Apparently we're in for a prolonged spell of hot weather. I wouldn't mind so much if the darn humidity would just go down! We've actually been able to have the windows open without severe side effects for me. I feel very fortunate in that respect. Just the same, I'm going to try to put together a couple of projects I can embellish for when it's just plain too hot to have the iron on.

Time Out

I am suffering from a fairly severe case of cabin fever. I have not been able to make myself sew or read or do any of the things I normally enjoy doing. DH is taking some time off from work and we're going to try to get me out of this house, at least for a little while. Hopefully that will have a rejuvenating effect and I'll be back with something fun to share with you. Or at least with some enthusiasm for the things I currently have in the works...

Weekend Plans

Here's a quick pic of the completed Shoo Fly preemie quilt. I've folded the back over the top of the front so you can see that I had to add a narrow strip of flannel to make that alphabet panel wide enough. (It's right up the middle.) I'd picked up a light yellow flannel robe at a thrift shop somewhere along the way and it turned out to be the perfect thing for this quilt back!

You can also see that I chose to go with the wider, darker print for the outer borders and the cream strips down the center of the front. What can I say? It just felt better that way to me :- )

I've had another go at the houses for my Birds of a Feather challenge quilt. These houses and rooftops are not sewn together yet but I think I'm on the right track now.

The thermometers around here are on their way up again so I doubt I'll make much progress on houses for the next few days. Instead I hope to get this little Priority Quilt beaded:

It began with a leftover wonky heart from this quilt. The photo doesn't do justice to the batiks I used to bring it up to size. They're very rich and luscious. I want to add a bit of sparkle while tacking the layers together but not detract from the power of the colors.

Yet Another Preemie Quilt

I put the flannels away but felt compelled to make just one more quilt for a premature baby. I have more than sixty of those scrappy 6" Shoo Fly blocks I've been making so I pulled them out to see what I could do with them. Turns out I had just enough with a sort of ecru backgound to do a strippy set within the 24" x 30" format.


I also have this charming alphabet print flannel I can use for the back!

If I do three columns of five blocks each I have six inches left over for separation strips and/or borders. I've been auditioning prints... This one struck me as too busy. Hmm... It looks better in the photo than it did in person.

I also tried out this art nouveau style print (on the left) and a white-on-cream.

The art nouveau print seemed too busy again and the cream was not strong enough to be on the outside edges. Not that I would have sewn it up the way you see it here. At this point I was just trying out various colors and prints in general. Those strips would all finish at 1.5".

In this layout I have the art nouveau stips cut to finish at 2" and the cream print to finish at only one inch. On my design wall I like this version the best.

I guess I like the way the wider, darker, strips on the outside edges provide a sense of completion. Would you use the evenly spaced tiny checkerboard print strips or the art nouveau and cream strips?