Tiny Squares

A while ago a friend and I went to a quilt show. I noticed a quilt with tiny nine-patches in it. Each little square in the nine-patch finished to a half inch! I thought I would try a few of my own. I am just piecing these the regular way, not paper piecing. This is what I have made so far. I have a general idea in mind for these, but it may morph in several ways before it's done. You as well as I will have to wait and see.

Yesterday I went to another quilt show, alone this time. This is the raffle quilt that I am going to win. It is my favorite color - blue - and my favorite block pattern - Ohio Star. (I can pretend, can't I? I mean, someone's ticket will be drawn.. why not mine??)

Friday Books: Books for Middle School

I bought a book written for middle-school aged kids. I am thinking of giving it to the kid I tutor, and I wanted to read it before I give it as a gift, just to make sure it is good enough.

I read it in a day and loved it. The book is Once by Morris Gleitzman. It's about a 9-year-old boy during the Holocaust. You can read my review in the Goodreads shelf in my sidebar. Just put your mouse on the "Once" icon and click. It'll show you my review.

There are more books that come after this one: they are called "Then", "Now", and "After". I don't know if I will read them all, but I will if they are all as good as "Once"... I ordered "Then" from Amazon (for 4 cents) and put a hold at the library on "Now." I'll wait on "After" and see if I want to keep following the story to its complete end.

All I know for now is, I gave "Once" five stars. It wouldn't be too hard to start a Who's on First kind of conversation with these titles of Then, Now, After, etc etc. I'll spare you.

The photo above is the young man who coordinates tutors in the school where I tutor once a week. He was hired through AmeriCorps. He does a great job. This is a picture of him during his spring break trip to Mississippi -- reading (and the stone-faced man seems very interested, doesn't he?)! Good for him!

I am Six and Eating Noodles

This morning when my husband left for work, I was still in bed. He came to say goodbye, and I told him, "I'm six, and I'm eating noodles with butter and crinkle-cut carrots." I was so excited about it, too! I remember telling him that, but don't remember much else. About an hour and a half later I woke up, and I was soooo groggy! It took me a long time to fully wake up. Why are some mornings like that?

I'm so lucky that I'm retired and can have mornings like that. I didn't force myself to wake up, just went with it. Had a lazy morning. I had intended to go to the gym, but I was too groggy for that. So by about 11:00 AM I was finally awake and got ready for work.

Worked a nice 3-hour shift; the time went very quickly today. Then I went to the gym after work instead of before. I am trying hard to be a regular at the gym. There is no reason to NOT go. I'm feeling good, and the work-out (mostly the treadmill, once in a while the elliptical) feels just about right, with an occasional increase in distance or time. I guess it's working out OK for me. In answer to some previous questions, the gym I go to is so convenient, and it's not full of skinny, tight-clothed aerobic princesses. It's a nice variety of regular people -- my neighbors. I fit right in, especially because I can go during the day, there are other oldies like me there as well.

Lately I have not been in a sewing mood, so I have been knitting instead. I have nothing new to show, however, since I showed you my funny mitten. I have not yet started Mitten #2. I have also been reading.. started a book yesterday and finished it today. It was short.

One reason I'm not in a sewing mood is the state of my sewing room. It's a mess! Yesterday, to add to it, Mr. Cat decided to jump up onto my sewing table when I was in the middle of something. I was telling him "no! no!" but he insisted on coming to "help." I tried to shoo him out of the way, he tried to run in the opposite direction, chaos ensued, and several boxes and piles of things went flying. I just didn't have it in me to clean it all up. So it's even worse now. I know once I attack it and get things put away I will once again feel motivated to sew.

I desperately need a haircut! I could go tomorrow, but a storm is coming, and they are predicting a foot of snow. Can you believe it?? Happy April, everyone. The good news is, April snows never last long. It'll melt soon, and we need the moisture.

I bought a few zillion balls of cotton yarn on sale at Michael's .. only 99 cents through this Saturday .. perfect for home-made dish cloths.

A Mitten Humbles Me

I finished my first-ever mitten!! I was feeling kind of proud of myself as I worked through the mitten. It was looking really good.

The thumb is the last step. Oh, boy. I found that part a tad confusing. And I realized halfway through, it was turning out inside-out. How did I do that?? I don't even know. It's a beautiful thumb INSIDE the mitten, but on the outside it's the wrong side out. Looks like a thumb that was hit by a hammer.

Well, I will try to make the same mistake on the second mitten, so they match. Maybe someone will think it was intentional. You think so? Hahaha.. just goes to show, don't feel too proud of yourself while working on a new challenge until you get to the very end.

Great Weekend!

What a great weekend! I had a lot of fun.

Friday Hubby and I stayed home and had fun catching up with each other. He is excited about a work-related project he is focusing on. It's fun to think about the possibilities that may ensue.

On Saturday the yarning group met at my church. We had two new participants, bringing our attendance to 8 which is the most we've had so far. One woman was doing her first-ever lesson in knitting. It was fun to see her figuring it out and making progress. The other new person had basic skills in crochet but learned some tips from our crochet expert. All 8 of us made good progress on our projects, had fun show-and-tell along with some good laughs. I hope our new participants come again next month.

After our gathering I felt inspired to make a dish cloth which I started, but then for some reason I also felt the need to attempt my first pair of mittens. Abandoning the dish cloth (I can work on that any old time), I jumped into the mitten project. Here is my first mitten, so far. I'm very excited about how nice it looks. The pattern I am using is quite easy to follow. I can hardly wait until I complete my first pair! I am making them to give away, but I may need to hold onto them and love them up for a while before I can part with them.



I am also working on a colorful hat. Isn't this cute yarn? The hat will go to Craft Hope's current project, Rally for Roma. They are looking for blankets, hats, scarves -- warm winter items for Roma people in Romania. These can be made using any technique and in all sizes: knit, crochet, sew, tie fleece, anything that is warm. The items are due on May 20; they are collected during the summer and will be distributed next winter. You can easily participate. Just click on the Rally For Roma button in my sidebar.



Oh, I distracted myself again. The rest of my fun weekend was what happened on Sunday. Church was Humor Sunday which happens the Sunday after Easter. The idea is that Easter played a joke on Death. We celebrate the joy of it, with jokes and even funny music. Quite fun. After church a friend and I went out for lunch. The food was good, but mostly the chatting was great fun. We stayed in our booth for quite a while and talked. Good for the soul!

I came home and found this very cute picture in an e-mail from my friend in Czech Republic. It's her granddaughter. Isn't she adorable?? I want to snuggle those cute, fat cheeks!



I am rejuvenated and ready to tackle another week! May we all have a great week, with the weather we hope for which suits our preferences (hot, cold, warm, whatever.. may it be so).

Trying Again.. for the 46 Millionth Time

I decided to keep my gym membership and try to get back into the exercise habit. Of course, I never developed the habit. I just had one somewhat good month of fairly regular attendance. I don't call that a habit. I have heard so many times: just keep doing something regularly for two or three weeks, and it will become a habit. That has never worked for me. Maybe it works for you "normies," but it doesn't seem to work for a person like me with ADD or whatever I have... short attention span, easily bored, distracted by what seems loads more fun. It could even be pure laziness. I'm still hoping for that magic pill I can take that will make me slim and beautiful, and able to eat whatever I want.

My doctor sort of inspired me. Or maybe it was my good numbers. My warning-sign numbers were all good (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose), but my triglycerides need some work. Exercise and weight loss are supposed to help those numbers go down. So, with a heavy sigh, and a nod to my aging process, I am trying once again to make it a habit to go to the gym. Really, it's not that bad. If I can just get myself out the door and on my way, the rest isn't so bad.

Spring is still coming VERY reluctantly here. Yesterday we had snow in the air. It stuck to the grass for a while and then melted. We still have clumps of snow where it was piled high and hasn't melted yet. I don't believe we've been into the 60's yet this spring. We'll likely get snow again before it stops for good. I hope we don't miss spring entirely and go directly from cold to 90 degrees F and humid. That's been known to happen!

Whatever it does, I hope I manage to get myself to the gym the proper number of times. Maybe even lose a pound or two. I can't let the weather be my excuse, since the gym is heated and cooled as needs dictate. It also has lighting, nice equipment, and I feel safe there. All my excuses are gone.

I'd still rather be doing this:



It's my first attempt at knitting mittens. I've made a lot more progress on this since I took the photo. I'm working on the thumb gusset (is that the right word?) and hoping it looks OK and doesn't leave too many holes. Holes and mittens go together like ice cream and sour kraut. Yum.

Friday Books: Changing My Method

You may know from my bookshelf in the sidebar that I am a member of Goodreads(dot)com. That is where I keep track of the books I have read and books I am hoping to read. I also joined a book group there and enjoy our monthly book discussions. When I finish a book, I write up a review and give the book a rating: 1-5 stars.

I have been posting the same book review here at my blog. Sometimes the book I read shows up on my Goodreads bookshelf (in the sidebar) several days before it gets posted here at my blog.

I have decided to change my Friday Books postings a little. From now on I am simply going to tell you the names of the books I finished during this week, and refer you to the Goodreads shelf in my sidebar. To read my review, just click on the book on the shelf. This way you can read my review right away when it appears (if you wish to), or you can wait until I remind you on Fridays, and then go read my review using that bookshelf.

Got it? I hope this makes sense. It was beginning to feel silly to post a review at Goodreads and then, several days later, post the same review here at my blog. Friday Books will now just be a reminder to check out my shelf and read my reviews, if you haven't already done so.

The book I read and reviewed this week was A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Gou. It is the red-cover book on my shelf. When you hold your mouse over the book, its title and author show up just under the book icons. Click on the book, and you'll see my review.

Au revoir for now, and as I say to the student I tutor every week, "keep reading!"

Goings-On In My World

Lately we have had some fun times at my women's group at church. (I'm co-president this year, which is an improvement from being president all by myself in the past.) First event was a sewing day. We had about a dozen women, and we had lots of fun. We sewed school bags for kits that will be sent to places in need around the world. These bags, filled with school supplies, have gone to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and other places in Africa, also Haiti and even the USA after Hurricane Katrina. I've heard that the presence of these school bags, filled with supplies, can make the difference between a kid going to school or not going.









Next up... a cooking lesson in how to make authentic enchiladas. Very fun, and delicious, I might add.







Another event was the delivery of the quilt I made for my hubby's 100 year-old aunt. She was very sleepy, so I didn't stay long. I talked with her a little bit. She claims that I knew her sister much better than she did. (This is the same sister with whom she was "inseparable" last time we chatted.) I read to her a little bit. That just put her to sleep, which wasn't hard to do on this visit. I'm getting educated on life in nursing homes as I hang out with Aunt Dot.





The other thing going on around here is SEWING. Are you surprised? I also managed to finish reading a book today.


I'm not crazy about this quilt; even less so after I added the borders. I was going to make interesting, pieced borders, but I got lazy. Hopefully the quilting will improve the like-ability of this quilt.


I recently purchased (very cheaply) a bag of already-made Ohio Stars. I made a couple of my own, and voila - a bunch of projects ready to go. These will be baby quilts and doll quilts once they make it through the finishing steps.

Decisions

inspired by "Dancing With the Stars" -- can you guess how?

a bunch of doll quilts - and I'm making more!


Pictures above have nothing to do with verbage below, exept that the pictures above represent what I'd rather do (make quilts) than doing what the verbage represents (exercise).

If you've been around my blog for even a short time, you know that I occasionally try to convince myself to turn into a physically-fit person. My most recent attempt was to join Anytime Fitness. I was so sure that, since it is less than a mile from my house, and I drive past it daily, it would be easy to pop in for a quick workout.

Well, surprise, surprise, it hasn't worked out for me yet. I joined in mid January. I went faithfully for a couple of weeks. In February I went a tad less faithfully. In March I found myself making excuses and went even fewer times.

I don't want to keep paying for this thing if I'm not going to go. That's what I did at the Y. I paid that membership for several years while my attendance dwindled down to ZERO. Now I'm trying to decide what to do.

Should I keep paying and hope I get on the ball? History would suggest that is NOT going to happen. Should I save my dollars and accept reality for what it is? Should I pretend I'm still going to do work-outs but at home and outside on my own? (That's a laugh.)

The one thing that is holding me back from facing what is probably an inevitability is that I had started to feel a lot better after those first few weeks of faithful exercise. Do I really want to give that up? I recently went to the doctor and had all those usual tests: blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. I'm fine in all areas (hooray!) except one (boo hoo). I have high triglycerides. Exercise and some weight loss would help that a lot.

So I'm torn. I'm not a person who loves to be physically active, at least not just for the sake of being active because I should. Yet I don't want to give up on myself. Arrgghh!

Tomorrow is April 1st. Maybe I will start the month with new resolve..... then again, that might just be a big April Fool on myself. What should I do???

My March Finish

Yesterday I quilted and bound this little cutie. I really like how it turned out. Well, some of my quilting is less than stellar, but otherwise, I'm happy with it.

This is a baby quilt for a friend. Now that it's done, I can hand it off.... along with the little dolly and sort-of-matching doll blankie I made.



Wow! That's a lot of pink!

Here's a link to the Year of Finishes March projects.

Friday Books: Two Books

Through No Fault of My Own: A Girl's Diary of Life on Summit Avenue in the Jazz Age by Coco Irvine is a one-year diary written by a 12-13 year old girl, daughter of a wealthy lumber man in St. Paul, MN in the 1920s. They live in a 20-room mansion which in later years was donated to the State of Minnesota and is now the Governor's mansion (see picture above. That's the house).

Coco is a very spirited child and pulls many pranks and shenanigans. It is quite funny. She continues to say "I am in deep trouble through no fault of my own." It is hilariously true to the way a young teen thinks. Nothing she does is blame-worthy, and her parents just don't understand anything.

This is a short, quick read. I laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed Coco's precocious attitude and good writing style. In the afterword we are treated to an update on Coco's adult life as well as her siblings' lives, not all of it happy, but it's a treat for the reader to learn what ensues.

4 stars

---

The Orchard by Theresa Weir was so good, I couldn't put it down. I finished it in one day. A memoir, the author tells about her tough childhood and then her growth into her adult life. She marries a guy she barely knows; he works on a farm/apple orchard.

The story reveals family struggles and joys along with alarming farming practices, changes within individuals and the changes that led to the demise of the family farm and the growth of industrial farming. The story is well written and very engaging. Next time you have a day to read a page-turner, choose The Orchard.

5 stars

The Proust Questionnaire

Over at the blog, A Majority of Two (see link in my sidebar), Jo shares with us her answers to the Proust Questionnaire. I had never heard of this questionnaire before, but I thought it would be fun to give it a shot. Some of these answers are a bit personal. The bad things I've revealed about myself are things that I am working on. After you read this, I trust that you will still like me! Here goes:

What is your greatest fear?
being rejected

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Jane Addams

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
the tendency to judge

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
know-it-all

What is your greatest extravagance?
spending money on gifts.. for people I know and people I don't know.

What is your favorite journey?
a road trip to anywhere with my husband; hopefully to include a state and/or national park

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
conformity

On what occasion do you lie?
to avoid conflict

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
weight

Which living person do you most despise?
Honestly, I try not to hate anyone, but George W. Bush would be close to the top of my list.

What is your greatest regret?
parenting mistakes

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
my wonderful husband

When and where were you happiest?
my current life situation

Which talent would you most like to have?
ability to draw well using pen and ink

What is your current state of mind?
happy

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
be a better listener

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
my generosity

What is your most treasured possession?
quilts

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
being completely alone

Where would you like to live?
Pacific Northwest

If not yourself, who would you be?
Kate DiCamillo

What is your most marked characteristic?
silliness

What do you most value in your friends?
intelligence

Who are your favorite writers?
Barbara Kingsolver, Kent Nerburn, Michael Dorris

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Who are your heroes in real life?
Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Kelley J. (friend), Voua X. (former student)

What is it that you most dislike?
stupidity

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
wind

How would you like to die?
pain-free

What is your motto?
Love is the answer to everything.

Sew Much Sewing Going On

Sew much sewing is happening at my house. I've been having a blast! I would love to create quilt tops endlessly, if only I could get them magically finished by the Finishing Angel. Creating the tops is the most fun! I love it! Sometimes I have to slap my own hands and force myself to stop creating.. then I get reluctantly to the finishing steps. I love having a finished quilt, but don't always love getting there.

Here are some photos of things I have created lately, possibly even finished, though most are not yet done.

Joining the Hands 2 Help Challenge

It's time for the Hands 2 Help Challenge 2013. Each year quilters are invited to participate in one or both of two charities. They choose some great causes, and in addition there are prizes one can win.

It's fun to participate in these charities that need and appreciate our beautiful quilts. A prize would be fun, but it's not why I participate. Why do I participate? It gives me joy to share love and gives me opportunity to practice creativity in making quilts. win/win!!

"What does love look like?
It has the hands to help others.
It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy.
It has eyes to see misery and want.
It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.
That is what love looks like."

You can follow the Hands 2 Help link and learn about the two charities they have chosen. One, Happy Chemo, was also a program last year. Since then I had an opportunity to purchase a Happy Chemo box for a friend of mine who has been going through chemo treatments. She says her quilt is beautiful (I have not yet seen it). So I am happy to help Happy Chemo keep going by donating another quilt or two.

The second charity, Quilts Beyond Borders, is new to me. I had not heard of it before; it sounds intriguing and fun. I plan to donate at least one quilt there as well.

We are asked to sign up this week (March 24-30) and get quilts done and sent in by early June. Please join me in providing a quilt hug to some deserving children or adults! Follow the Hands 2 Help link and get started quilting! You can also put the button on your blog, post about it, and help recruit more quilters.

Welcome to Post 1,400 !!!

Yesterday I noticed that I had written post #1,399! Wow! I had to do something to celebrate post #1,400. I thought about waiting until 1500, but I am too impatient for that. I'll celebrate that when I get there, but for now it's celebration time!

I started this blog in January 2006. Who knew I had so much to say! Or that I could say nothing for so long!? It has been so much fun. I love writing in my blog and meeting other people in blogland.

My traditional way of celebrating is to donate money to my favorite (non-quilting) charity, Ampersand Families. This time I decided to do something different. I am not even asking for comments or anything! Read all you want, but you are not required to post any comments.

This time I decided to make a Traveling Stash for Charities Box. I had a blast putting it together. I am going to send it to someone I know. I think she reads this blog, but she does not have a blog of her own. The box will appear on her doorstep, and will begin its journey to who knows where?! My hope is that the fabrics and ideas in the box will be used all or mostly for charity quilting. It may appear now and then on someone's blog, depending on to whom it gets sent.

Here is a picture of the stuff I am sending in my Traveling Stash for Charities Box:



Won't it be fun to catch glimpses of it now and then in blogland?? I think so! Have fun, little box! Hope to hear from/of you from time to time.

Now I'm shooting toward Post #1,500! Watch me go!

Friday Books: Mango Street

mobile library

This week I read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I will be handing out free copies of this book on World Book Night, April 23. I wanted to read it before handing it out.. in fact, I was told to read it by the World Book Night organizers. I believe I had read it before, but many years ago, so I had forgotten details, and it was pretty fresh for me this second time around.

This is a wonderful book, told through the eyes of a girl. Her family is from Mexico and settled in Chicago. The neighborhood consists mostly of other immigrants, and families who come and go. The girl's observations are very sweetly girlish yet mature and poignant. Each chapter is a small story of its own, but they all connect. It's a quick read and is beautifully written. It is a book to be savored. Five stars.

P.S. Last week I mentioned Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane. I started the book but quickly became disinterested. The topic and the characters were depressing. I chose to stop, and I plan never to read it. For a really good read, try The House on Mango Street.

Living to 100

Last week my SIL and I went to visit her (and my husband's) aunt in the nursing home. Auntie is 100 years and 7 months old. At her 100th birthday Auntie was starting to slip, asking questions that didn't make sense. But still kind of there, at least some of the time.

By now she is pretty loopy almost all the time. She kept being surprised that my SIL (her niece) knows her brother (SIL's dad). "Oh, you're related??" she'd say with surprise. We had no hope of trying to help her figure out who I was.. her nephew's wife?? Too far beyond her capacity.

Once we got her talking about her memories, she could talk pretty clearly and the old Auntie that I remember shined through. She talked about how she and her sister used to ride the horses on the farm after the horses were too old for farm work. The sisters were close in age and were "inseparable." I can relate. I have a sister only 16 months older, and we, too, were inseparable. I suppose when I'm 100 I'll talk about us and our games.

Seeing Auntie in a fog, living in a nursing home, relying on others to feed her, bathe her, dress her, entertain her while she slumps in her wheelchair.... it gives one pause. How badly do I want to reach age 100 if life will be like that?

In my dreams, when I am old I am still cognizant and alert. I can still read books, and I can follow current events. Maybe someone can cook and clean for me (YES!), but I can do other stuff and still have fun.

That's the ideal, of course. How many of us will actually be that way when/if we reach the age of 100? I have my mom's example.. maybe I'll be as lucky and still be sharp and aware like she is, at least into my 90s. One can hope.

Life can be full of tricks and surprises. Who knows what is in store? No one. And sometimes the glimpse into the future isn't all that appealing.

Auntie is still beautiful, and she is sort of aware of things, but only briefly. Then you start all over again, and she's surprised, again, that her niece is related to her family. She lives in a tiny circle.

I am making Auntie a small lap quilt. She talked about "the Little One" in her lap who gets cold; she has to keep rubbing her to keep her warm. So I offered to make a blanket. Auntie told me her favorite color is blue. She won't remember that I was even there, much less that I offered to make her a blanket, but I'm doing it anyway. After all, there's that Little One to keep warm.

Here's the lap quilt, before being quilted. I hope to finish it in the next few days. When the recipient is 100, a quilt needs to be made quickly. Who will make me a quilt when I'm 100? I'm not so sure I want to get there to find out.


I measured Auntie's lap with my hand and determined this would be about the right size. It measures 31" x 35".

I'm Sensing a Pattern Here

I'll tell you a well-kept secret: I like to play with fabric scraps. Was that even a secret? Actually, not at all, and especially not after looking at the three quilts below. I like having these three quilts all lined up to show you my sewing "M.O." Proof that scraps and I get along. (Some people call this scrap-sewing method "dump and sew" - dump out the scraps, sew them together. That's pretty much how I love to kick back and have fun.)


This green one is headed to Margaret's Hope Chest. It was beautifully quilted by Diane.






This is the red one I already showed you. It was quilted on a long-arm at a local shop. It is still waiting patiently for its binding.


This blue one was made 100% by me - I even quilted it! I gave this one to my great-nephew. He's the one on the sofa, not exhibiting too much interest, which is totally what I expected. How could he know how we adults value quilts?! His mom and grandma were excited, though...


...and he did turn to his friend and say "don't you wish you had one of these?" so I guess he liked it, though I hope his friend didn't feel bad. I almost offered to make one for his friend and then wisely thought better of it.

I made progress on other sewing this weekend, too, and will show you photos in the next couple of days.

Friday Books: Finally!

Photo taken in my house? I wish...

Just last night I finally finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King. I have not revised my 3-star rating that I gave it last week. I was really tired of that book by the time I got to the last third of it.

I shall now begin reading my book club assignment: Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane. I have no knowledge of this book and no expectations. Perhaps I shall be surprised, in a good or a bad way. Check in next week for my assessment.

Have a great week, and keep reading!