A Glorious Sunday

Morning coffee.

I am not about to forget to acknowledge this beautiful weather we are having! For late July, we could be sweltering in heat and humidity - and there has been a fair amount of that this month - but yesterday and today are utter perfection! Gentle breeze, temps in the mid-70s, clear, cloudless blue skies - absolutely ideal.

Midday lemonade.

My Saturday was sublime - for all intents and purposes, I had the house to myself all day, so I enjoyed several cups of coffee on our screened porch before deciding to head upstairs to shower and get to sewing. However, after the shower, I really just wanted to sit on the porch some more!! So I made some lemonade, grabbed a book and read - all day! I finished my book around 9pm, the evening had gotten chilly and my toes were cold; the timer lights had flicked on, but I truly did treat myself to a lazy porch day - talk about heaven!

Reading into the late afternoon and evening.

The book is one my book club read nearly a year ago, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Published in 2014, nearly all I've ever heard about it is how wonderful it is, so why I could never find time to read it is beyond me. I knew ahead of time that I would miss the meeting in which this book was discussed, therefore I just laid it aside. I have moved it dozens of times to different tables and even picked it up to read on a few occasions, but for whatever reason, I never got very far.

Maybe I was waiting for a pleasant Saturday in July to sit on the porch with it in my lap?

My Sunday has been just as satisfying, I got up super-early and drove down to Rocky Fork Lake, southeast of Hillsboro (my old stomping grounds) for an 8am church service. The First United Methodist Church of Hillsboro has held weekly church services for campers at the lake for over 40 years - I know this because I used to go when I was in high school. They have a beautiful sanctuary-like spot with rustic benches, an altar, a sound system and quite a few more improvements since I used to go in the 70s. It is called Chapel in the Woods, and gauging by today's crowd, it is quite well-attended. My sister and brother-in-law have been taking my mom each week, and I surprised Mom by showing up today. It opens each spring on Mother's Day and continues through Labor Day.

Now to sewing. I haven't yet shared with you the two little pincushions I made with scraps from the Wishes quilt. I have watched with utter fascination the blog by Amanda Jean - Crazy Mom Quilts - and have seen both her pincushions and Carrie Nelson's, too, on Instagram. OMG! They are works of art, I tell you! So, being the squirrel that I am, I saved those little bits of scraps and knew that as soon as I finished that quilt top, I would for sure be making pincushions. And here are two. I will likely make more.

The top one measures just under 3" - but it isn't truly square. The bottom one is about 3" x 1" and is made like a tube. They are certainly fun, and it is so satisfying to get a little project finished so fast.

For my slow Sunday stitching, I think I will get back to that Lucy Boston block I worked on last week. I have cut quite a few "trial" hexies just to see how things work and I still feel like such a neophyte creating these blocks. I love the look, though, and will continue to hone my skills. Practice makes perfect, I believe I learned a long time ago. Plus, all these audition hexies will have to be used for something.

I'm linking up with that ongoing weekly party, Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts. She's celebrating five years of hosting this party each Sunday! Whoo-hoo!

Hope you are having a glorious day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hexie Prep Work

We had our big fraternity bash over the weekend and have been recovering ever since. Thus the absence from posting here. Besides the fact that we have been extremely busy with  reunion festivities, I haven't had any time for significant sewing, let alone time to blog. But things look to settle down here in the coming week, so maybe I can get my quilty creativity going again.

To fully wind down after the big reunion, DH and I are leaving for a short drive to northern Ohio where we hope to take in sights and attractions at Lake Erie, Put-In-Bay, and Kelly's Island. To keep my hands occupied, I prepped these sweet little hexies yesterday.

I took a page right out of my friend Jan's playbook - run copies of paper with the outline of the hexie drawn on, then put down double-sided tape and attach the parts in the desired design. Now they are portable and accessible.

That POTC block I did a week or so ago still needed to have an outer row, so I made 8 light neutral hexies to attach to it. I am going to try to get those done, too.

I must be off! Still a bit to do here before we hit the road!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

I Caved

Bombarding me from every direction, it's a wonder I have managed to hold out as long as I have. Quilting friends have tempted me. Pictures on Pinterest tempt me, as well. What is the temptation? English Paper Piecing. The name of these versatile blocks is Points Patchwork of the Crosses, or Lucy Boston blocks. Just do a search of those terms on Pinterest and see what gorgeousness pops up. Endless examples, each beautiful in its own way. Infinite variety.(Sorry; I had been using the wrong name; all correct now.)

Yes, those fussy little templates and the stunning blocks that result have finally broken my resolve to skip this current quilting craze. I'd been given a packet of templates and fabrics; I'd both watched and overheard impromptu tutorials by avid devotees.

It all finally just wore me down.

I took some scraps from one of the work shirts I've been using and I fussy cut some 3/4-inch hexies and stitched them together to make a wreath. I envision finishing this with a string so that it could be used as a Christmas tree ornament. I made this on Saturday evening.

After considering it for about a day and a half, I decided that I would put a center in it, also a work shirt scrap. I probably should have looked for a bigger piece for the center so I could do a better job of centering the plaid, but eh, what the heck, it's my first one; I'll work that stuff out on future efforts.

Future efforts. Sigh. Yes, I suspect there will be future efforts. I fear that I am falling  in beyond the point of no return with this technique.

Happy Quilting, Friends!