Quilts from vacation

 

I went back to visit some friends in Washington over the past few weeks and I was surprised by this wonderful wool appliqué quilt made by the Woolies group that I left behind when I moved! I was so touched. It's the first time anyone has made a quilt for me!

Each of them made a coffee cup block and then Pam put it together and Carolynn quilted it. You can see the steam in these closeups. Every one is a little treasure, and I'm going to hang it in my entry.

I also met with my Sew Day group (all of this was socially distanced). I haven't met with a single quilter since I moved (the guild isn't meeting), so it was great to see what others have been doing. 

Here are some show and tells from the two groups:

Pardon the interruption. This is the taco soup that Linda J. made for Sew Day. There were also chocolate cupcakes at Woolies.

Seems like everyone was getting into the Christmas spirit early. I know I've made a bunch of Christmas gifts while isolating at home.

On my way out of town, I stopped at my favorite quilt shop -- the Quilted Strait in Port Gamble -- and bought some fat quarters in this lusciously colored collection. I'm thinking of a blue desert sky, green cactuses, and sunset borders.

Have a colorful day

Table runner is done!

I sewed the binding on the table runner today! Now I just have to wait for Covid to go away so I can have some company over. The lantana and bougainvillea are from my yard.

I hope the table can become a family heirloom some day if one of the kids will take it when I kick the bucket. Dave made it out of redwood when the kids were little, almost 30 years ago. It was our outdoor table then, when we lived in El Paso and could use it year round. We had a pool, so there were plenty of wet swimsuits on the waterproof benches and many a birthday party was celebrated there. You can cram a lot of little kids at an eight-foot-long table! Our dog gave it that battered antique look with scratches and bites on the bench ends when he first saw it.

When we moved to Illinois in 1998 it became our dining room table. Since then it's been in the dining room in five more homes and has held many, many, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and oodles of potlucks.

I used to hand stitch my bindings on the back, but now I do it by machine. The whole thing went so quickly that I can easily see making more in different colors (and still not make a dent in my stash).

And here's a thought to get us through these coronavirus months:

Have a colorful day

Hot and spicy table runner

 

I started a nine-foot-long table runner over the weekend and all I have left to do is the binding. I made it in hot and spicy colors, cooled down a bit by black-and-white prints.

 

I needed another mindless project to keep me busy without having to constantly make decisions. I think a lot of us are feeling that way this year. So I just cut a bunch of strips in various widths and sewed them directly to the batting and backing in a stitch-and-flip technique.

It was actually TOO quick, because it's only been a few days and now I need another project!

This is true:

Have a colorful day

Change is in the air

No triple digits in the forecast! I was finally able to sit in my back yard and read a bit this week. Finally! Normally it's too hot back there, even in the shade, but this week it was actually pleasant.

While back there, I noticed these little things that had fallen from the trees in our latest wind storm. They remind me of the acorn caps back in the Midwest. Does anyone know what they are?

Despite the relief from the heat, we've been having hazy skies from the California wildfire smoke. The sun has been an eerie red in the early morning and near sunset.





Another first since I moved here was eating at a shady outdoor cafe. Again, it's normally too hot by lunchtime to be outside. I got a sandwich at a bakery/cafe, and while waiting in line I saw this Southwest sunset cake in the cooler! Pretty cool. Besides the sandwich, I got a peanut butter brownie that was divine.



Add for a little humor, this is how I feel most days:

Have a colorful day!

Another summer top

I made another summer top from the same pattern as the purple one. This time I made it an inch longer than the longest version in the pattern and added two big patch pockets. I can wear summer tops all year here. The weather forecaster just said we've had 90 days with temperatures in the triple digits so far this year! The record is 99.

I also found a box of clothes from when my kids were little, including this dress that I made for my daughter when she was a toddler. I sent it to her with her birthday box and it still fits her! Sort of.

A quilting friend sent me a list of quotes about color and I'm going to be sprinkling them throughout the blog. Here's the first, about pink. I love pink. It can be soft and gentle or vivid and happy, but always nice. It's mother, red, is too strong for me, except at Christmas. Pink makes me feel good. Red usually makes me agitated, like a bull with a red flag being waved at him.

Have a colorful day

Another sizzling weekend

It's shaping up to be another record-setting sizzling weekend. We're predicted to top today's record high of 106 by two degrees, getting up to 108. The rest of the weekend will be almost as hot, with scorching sun and no rain expected.

(Update: It reached 111 degrees today, smashing the record!)

I plan to stay inside with these summer beach reads that I just picked up at the library. Does the desert count as a beach because of all the sand and swimming pools?

If I do run out to Starbucks for an iced drink, I can wear the breezy lightweight tee that I just finished.

I was up by 5 this morning to beat the heat, sipping coffee in my front courtyard before my walk. This was the view of the moon and clouds tinted pink by the sunrise.

This next one is a fiery sunrise from last week ...

... and these next two 

are the photos I was taking ...

...when I nearly stepped on ...

... a rattlesnake!!! 

I was looking through my camera at the sky, side stepping down the street as I clicked away, and when I paused and looked down I was just a few feet from the snake. My heart jumped and so did I. It's a good thing a car wasn't coming, because I leaped backward into the street away from the snake without even looking. It didn't move. Must've been snoozing after a big meal.

Every time I walk I spot unusual desert plants like the one above, but this giant sunflower is from my sister's garden back in Washington.

Have a colorful day

National Sewing Month

September is National Sewing Month, so here's a roundup of what I'm sewing. I still have absolutely no social activities or friends here because of Covid, so sewing is keeping me sane (sort of). I'm still talking to the walls, so I'm not completely sane.

I just bought this pattern and luscious rayon batik fabric at The Quilter's Market here in Tucson. It has two neckline options, three sleeve options and three lengths. I haven't decided yet which combo I'm making, but I will be adding pockets. The weather here is so warm all year that a breezy, light tee is something I know I'll wear a lot.

I'm also finishing up my envelope quilt. It's bound and labeled, but now I'm adding three-dimensional pockets on some of the envelopes so I can tuck in actual letters.

Here's a closer look at how the pockets are added:

My third sewing project is another tea towel. Like I said before, everyone will be getting tea towels for presents from me because doing the embroidery is so addictive and an easy thing to do in the evening in front of the TV. That splint at the top is for the arthritic thumb.

You could substitute "sewing" for "art" in this quote.

Finally, here is last night's sunset from my porch.

 Have a colorful day