Friday Books: Two

After Easter come sunny days
that will melt all the snow
With a book that I want to read
to the park I will go!

This week I read two short books --

(1) Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist by Janis Amatuzio. This author is a doctor in Minnesota, and mentions familiar places -- it's fun to be familiar with her setting. 3 stars

(2) A Predator Priest by David Margolick. It's about a Catholic priest who molests boys; I believe it was offered only as a Kindle book. 3.5 stars

Both reviews can be found in my Goodreads shelf in my sidebar.

Lazy Me Enjoying Nature

Exercise: the bane of my existence. As you may recall, I joined a gym this year. I did OK (not great, but OK) at first. Lately I have not been going at all. I even went in and attempted to cancel my membership, but the manager, who is quite a good salesperson, convinced me not to. It does makes sense; I need to exercise for my health and longevity.

So.. since then I have not yet been back to the gym! Of course not! You have to drag me, kicking and screaming, to an exercise session.

This morning I decided to take a walk outside. It's such a pretty morning. Now I'm paying a gym membership so I can walk outside. LOL! Well, when it gets hot and humid, I'll be glad to have an air conditioned space to go to, once I manage to make it through the kicking and screaming stage.

During my walk today, this is what I enjoyed observing: birds! Beautiful lake reflections! Bird songs! Green grass and leaves! What a beautiful day!

I saw a bird like this, almost exactly in this pose in the small lake I walk past. I startled it, and it flew away, which was also a pretty sight. I am not sure what the bird is that I saw.. I think this photo is an egret, but do we have egrets in Minnesota? I don't even know. Maybe what I saw was a heron.



I saw a female wood duck that looked a lot like this:



I saw red-winged blackbirds, and a bunch of others that I could not name. The variety of songs is amazingly beautiful, too.

The lake I walk past was like a mirror this morning, so when birds flew low over it, they looked like this, but even better, with no ripples! So pretty!



If walking could always be this enjoyable, maybe I would keep doing it almost every day. I'll try (again)! Wish me luck!

Why I Quilt the Way I Do

I'm not very good at machine quilting. I mostly do straight lines: stitch in the ditch and straight diagonals. Sometimes I give in and attempt free motion quilting.

I find free motion quilting quite hard to do, and have never mastered the traditional patterns. I don't like meandering much. I have had to develop my own style. One problem I have is that my machine skips stitches when I free-motion. It'll be going along fine, and then suddenly I get three or four half-inch (or even bigger) size stitches. Not good! (I thought I had fixed this by using Quilting Needles, but no such luck. I'm pretty sure one big cause is pilot error.)

The quilting that I show here sort of compensates for skipped stitches. I did wonky concentric circles as you see in the pictures below.

When skipped stitches happened, I backed up and re-stitched that area, or went back around, adding to the circle, and filled in the space with semi-normal size stitches. (Since it's me in the driver's seat, they're not ever really normal.) Later I cut out the large, skipped stitches if possible, or just left them there if they camouflaged by my added stitches.

Here are some examples, from two different quilts. The first examples are on the back of the quilt that is pictured above.







This is a quilt I made a few years ago; these pictures show the front of the quilt.. similar wonky circles..



and my other speciality is wonky star-shapes, like this:



I wonder what people think when I donate quilts that I have finished in this style. Are they surprised it's done in that wonky, break-the-rules style? Do they even realize it's not traditional? Do they care? Do they like it/dislike it? I've had to settle for it in my own mind.. I even sort of like it.. but I do wish I could do some traditional swirlies or feathers and such with a certain level of ease. So far I have not come close. Perhaps my domestic machine will never allow me to quilt anything too fancy. I know I don't want to get heavily involved in long-arm quilting, so for me this is what has to happen. When I want it to look professional and nice, I "quilt by check."

How do you handle this dilemma of how to get your quilts finished?

Tired at End of Weekend

I'm too tired to be creative tonight. Time for my beauty sleep.

I did get two quilts bound, and I quilted another which is now waiting its turn for binding.


Red quilt is finally bound; I love this quilt and decided to keep it. Joy!


The prison quilt is quilted and bound; waiting for word from the coordinator to see where it goes next.

Today I had a fun lunch with daughter and faux SIL, and when I came home son called, and we had a nice chat on the phone. Made for a happy Mother's Day for this mom.

I'm reading a book written by my aunt - her diary of our early years up at the lake, where several family members and friends bought lots and built cabins. It's quite fun to read this old history that I remember so well, but from my 12 year-old experience. I'm now seeing it through an adult's eyes. Interesting!

Sweet dreams, everyone!

Friday Books and a Bit of Quilty News

This week I finally finished Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle by Ingrid Betancourt. It took me over 3 weeks to get through this book. It was a hard, unhappy topic and seemed endless in more ways than one. I liked it, but didn't like it. I found it hard to rate this book and ended up giving it 3 stars. Please see my Goodreads shelf, click on Even Silence Has an End, to read my full review.

In quilty news, yesterday I sent off my orange quilt to Emily for Happy Chemo, satisfying part of my Hands 2 Help Challenge promise. I am working on a quilt for Quilts Beyond Borders which will meet their size requirements. Coincidentally, it is made of the extras and leftovers of this orangey fabrics.



I also dropped off a quilt that will hang in a one-week quilt show, first ever for this venue. I think it's a judged show, though I didn't know that when I registered my quilt. I don't make my quilts to be judged, so we'll see what they have to say about my ugly machine quilting and my hastily attached-by-machine binding.

Happy It's Thursday

This has been a busy week. I'm happy that today is Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday. Yahoo!

This week I had seveeral meetings, work shifts, an extra tutoring shift, things to pick up, things to drop off, friends to help post-surgery, and amidst it all, I'm still trying to read, knit, and sew.

I gave away a quilt this week. The recipient was busy, so I couldn't get a picture of her with her new quilt.

Here's a pic of Hubby et moi.

A Quilt From Prison

This is the top I put together from the blocks I received recently -- made by male prisoners. I am waiting to hear from the program coordinator; I hope I can help with more top assemblies and also donate some fabrics. I've heard the guys love being in this quilting program, and others are waiting to get in. I am for anything that gives them a positive outlet for their energies.

Today was a beautiful day, and Hubby and I had a nice walk in the sunshine. I think spring has arrived (knock on wood)!

I re-discovered a fun knitting project and started another scarf to make for the Craft Hope Rally For Roma project. Pictures will eventually appear here at my blog.

My self-declared spring break was fun and relaxing. I'm sad to see it come to an end, because this next week is busy with work and several meetings. This is the kind of week that causes retired people to say "I don't know how I used to have time to go to work!" I don't know if I'll have any time to sew or knit this week, but I'll try to squeeze it in.

Ta-ta, all. Have a fabulous week.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Books

My Spring Break saga continues. On Wednesday I drove up to my mother's town for a short visit. Wednesday was a day to relax at Mom's, chat, knit, and we went to my niece's house for dinner. I had fun trying to get my great-niece and great-nephew to learn some signs (American Sign Language). They were interested in watching me and trying to figure out what I was communicating, but they seemed shy about trying the signs themselves. That surprised me (they are 6 and 9). It's probably because I have not done signs with them before, so it was a surprising, new thing. I should have signed with them from Day One! Why didn't I??

Thursday Mom and I slept in and had a lazy morning, then joined my sister for lunch. As usual, I bought too many books at her lovely bookstore. I just can't resist books!

I accompanied Mom to her cardiologist appointment which was short and sweet. She needs another test, and then the doctor anticipates that she will need an angiogram and stent. He was amazed at how great she looks at age 92. Everyone says that. The clinic's front desk person thought she couldn't possibly be the 2:15 appointment, because that woman is 92, and the woman standing in front of her certainly couldn't be 92! I hope I have my mom's genes!

While I was traveling NW, the poor folks south and east of me were getting dumped on by over a foot of SNOW!! On May 2, some towns had as much as 15-17 inches of snow! It has been a strange year around here. My traveling, with zero snow or even rain, was easy and uneventful (that's nice to say about a long drive).



Friday: time to talk about a book! I read another YA book (I'm on a kid/Young Adult kick lately, sort of by accident). This one is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I asked my 7th grade great-niece if she has read it, and she said "no." As I got further into the book, I was glad she has not read it yet. I'm thinking it would be better for senior high and up. There is a fair amount of drugs and sex activity in the story. My review can be found on my Goodreads shelf in my sidebar.

My sister gave me some blocks to put together into a top. The blocks were hand-sewn by male prisoners. I plan to learn more about the program and maybe even participate. At some point when I know more, I will tell you about it. I am eager to make the top and to get more information from the coordinator. I'll work on that today.

And then it's the weekend, and my Arbitrary Spring Break comes to an end. I was too busy doing random, fun things to get any sewing done. I guess that's what Spring Breaks are for.

Solo Road Trip

This was my designated day to take a road trip. Drove to Hudson, Wisconsin today. It's not very far away, but is in another state, so I could pretend I was on a long, far-away adventure. First thing I did was fill my parking meter with dimes, and added a dime or two to other meters nearby that were nearing zero on their minutes. That's always fun. (And I'm glad this small town still accepts dimes in their meters.. most are quarters or have even gone electronic!)

Stopped in at an antique shop and found these:



old Bingo pieces. I'm not sure how, but I plan to use these for my Family Bingo game that I am already planning for next Christmas. They can be the pieces we use to cover our squares, or maybe I can attach my modified letters/numbers on the bottom side, and use them for calling. I have time to figure that out.

Next stop: quilt shop. I restrained myself and only bought two smallish pieces, and a pattern that was on sale for $2. Also bought a prize for a guild activity.

Lunch was at Agave Kitchen. This is a HALF serving of Nachos. So glad I didn't order a full serving! I couldn't finish this much.



Took some pictures of town signs:





Being the youngest of 3 sisters, I was wondering... would the two elders ever name a store "in honor" of me in this way??

Found the little independent bookstore in town and bought two books. And my last stop of the day was to a warehouse/shop where they handle the inventory and shipping for Little Free Libraries. I wish I had taken pictures (with their permission, of course)! It was just fun to be around all those libraries. They are so cool.



I bought one, and only took a picture of it once I got home. I am still deciding where this should be placed. My yard doesn't get much foot traffic, but a house down the street, right ON a new walking path, would be ideal. I'll have to sweet-talk my neighbor and see if they will allow this to be in their yard. If not, I have other ideas, too. I can hardly wait to get this installed and up and ready for business!

Are you familiar with Little Free Libraries? If not, read about them here. I just love the idea and can't resist joining in.

That was my Solo Road Trip, and it was a lot of fun. Spring breaks are a great idea. Everyone should have one!


P.S. -- yesterday I stopped at the Midtown Global Market. It's a big bazaar that reminds me a LOT of a market place I went to in San Antonio, Texas. Cool place, and I plan to go back there when I have more time. (I mean to the local one, not to the one in Texas, even though that would be a very cool road trip.)

Weekend Report

Good evening and welcome to Weekend Report. Breaking news today: Carol finished a simple quilt! After losing needles and experiencing a major stall, the quilt was finally finished on Sunday evening. Hopes to continue her finishing-jag are fading. Carol reports that her finishing desires have fizzled.





Flimsies have made a come-back in Carol's household. Here is one in pre-finished state. Carol states that she is contemplating what should come next. Ohio Stars, one of her favorite blocks, were constructed from "made fabric." Swap partner, Ellen, sent lovely scraps which Carol used to "make fabric," and the Ohio Stars are the result.



Another flimsy, still on the design wall, promises to be somewhat tedious to sew together and thus requests have been made to not expect this one to be finished any time soon.



In knitting news, this knitted combo (below) will be sent to the Craft Hope Rally for Roma. The Head modeling this combo has been known to scare certain cats. Carol's purchase of the head through e-bay allegedly caused her smarty-pants feelings to swell.



Carol's self-appointed Spring Break started off beautifully with two days in the 70s and lots of sunshine. Carol was seen sitting outside, contentedly reading a book. Recall that a mere four days previous to the Carol-outside-sighting, snow was being shoveled from the very same area. One would be tempted to call this arbitrary Spring Break "very well timed!"

When asked about her Spring Break dates, Carol responded that arbitrary spring breaks are the purview of retirees and semi-retirees. Stay tuned for further news of Carol's comings and goings during the next five days of "Spring Break."

I'm Jeanette Branch, Weekend Report for Blogspot News, Minnesota

Excited by Life

Mr. Cat watching the snow melt (it's melting fast!)


Sunshine, warm weather, and spring seem to have arrived in Minnesota, finally, and it is making me feel so cheerful! I'm full of happiness!

First, my Friday Books report: I have done a bunch of great reading. Check my Goodreads shelf in my sidebar. One surprise book was Butter by Anne Panning. I found it on the Lucky U shelf at the library (new books - borrower gets it for only one week). I had never heard of it, but it sounded interesting. Loved it! What a fun find!

This week I bought one entire huge roll of batting (20 yards). What fun! It was on sale, 50% off. I have never bought the entire roll before. I can't wait to get started finishing some tops again. BTW, I had set the huge roll of batting across the table in our entryway, and husband did not even notice it! He is very good at keeping his mind on his dreams and not noticing the mundane details in front of his nose. Makes me laugh!

While on the subject, husband is working hard to get his new, self-employment business up and running. It is fun to watch his excitement and trepidation and to keep my fingers crossed for him.

The online guild of which I am a member, Sunshine Quilt Guild, has decided to support Quilts Beyond Borders on a regular basis. I am so excited! We found out about them through the Hands 2 Hearts campaign (see my sidebar) and agreed to continue supporting them into the future. Love it! One of our members even signed on to become the western region representative!


Ohio Star using "made fabric" - scraps I received in a scrap swap

I gave myself an arbitrary week off, my own personal "spring break," and it begins today at 4:00 P.M. Looks like I picked a great week, weatherwise, and I know I have too manny things planned to fill up my week. I won't get it all done, but it sure is fun contemplating my week's activities.

Raising my glass of water to you all and to SPRING! Today's forecast: 65 degrees F!!! We Minnesotans are thrilled!

World Book Night 2013

Once again this year I was a Book Giver for World Book Night, April 23, 2013. This year I gave away 20 copies of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

I gave the book to a variety of people at a variety of locations...different ages, genders, and races. I hope at least some of them read the book and love it. I went to a city hall and gave one to the front desk receptionist; I gave one to a young guy at the McDonald's drive-through; four to staff at a restaurant where I frequently buy lunch; two to clerks at a convenience store; one to a photographer setting up for a photo shoot; and most of the rest I gave to random people I bumped into in the office building where I work. I either saw their door open and walked in to give the book, or caught them in the hallway as they were unlocking doors.

Most people were happy and thanked me. Only one person challenged me, and that was because she happened to be the property manager and was concerned that I was soliciting, something that the building does not tolerate. Since I knew I was not trying to make a sale or to get anything at all in return for the book gift, I was surprised that she even thought of it as soliciting. But... I should have realized that's what it would look like. I assured her I was just "sharing the love of reading" and she let me on my merry way (and took a book - I hope she reads it).

The idea of the book give-away is to present the books to non-readers and light-readers. How am I supposed to know who they are?? I sort of love giving away the books, but I sort of don't. I do feel a little awkward walking up to strangers and thrusting an object at them. I think, if I do this again next year, I will choose a place where I know they are light readers, such as a literacy center or a reading specialist classroom. I think it would be fun to present all 20 books to a room of 20 reading learners. I could contact a teacher ahead of time and get the teacher's permission to appear with a bunch of free books. That sounds more fun than just hitting up random strangers.

If I like the list of titles they offer next year, I will probably apply again. How about you? Don't you want to join me in sharing the love of reading?

Finished Quilts and Knits!

I have been finishing like crazy lately. It's so much fun to have things DONE! It's unusual for me to be motivated in the finishing department. My favorite is the creating and designing... after that it goes downhill. So when inspiration calls, I must take heed!

It started with the orange quilt that I posted on Thursday. Then I finished all these items:


This is one of my favorite scrap quilts. I love how it turned out. I plan to donate this to one of the H2H challenges -- probably Quilts Beyond Borders (see my sidebar for H2H information).


Not my favorite, it's not very kid-friendly. I added the ice cream cone fabric in an attempt to make it seem more kid appropriate. I hope some kid likes it. I bought the blocks on e-bay and then wondered why I had done that. Live and learn. This one goes to Wrap Them in Love.


I went to an excellent meeting on Saturday where I finished knitting this dish cloth while listening.


This hat and scarf will go to Craft Hope for the Roma project (see my sidebar).

I would have finished more quilts, but I ran out of batting. The closest batting store is putting it on sale starting this Wednesday, so I'll be able to get a big chunk at a good price and do MORE finishing! I hope my inspiration for finishing lasts that long.

Click HERE to see other H2H quilts in progress.

Spring Envy

I am so envious of the pretty spring pictures most Northern Hemisphere bloggers are posting. Some green would be a sight for sore eyes! We had yet another snowstorm yesterday, and they say more is coming today. It's beautiful, but ... would be easier to appreciate in December rather than late April. *sigh* Everyone here is just so tired of winter.

Nevertheless, feast your eyes.. photos taken from inside my house.

















I have no Friday Books report to give you this week. Keep reading!

Didn't Want to Iron Twice

I have a bunch of quilt tops in a to-be-finished pile. Today I decided to work on preparation of backing pieces for the tops. I got two smallish quilts folded up with their backings. Then I did the third, medium-large quilt .. I had to piece the backing and got it done and all nicely ironed.

The top was ironed, too. "Self," I thought, "do you really want to iron these bigger parts again when you decide to do the quilting?" "NO!" I answered. "Let's get it done right now!"

So, Self and I launched right into sandwiching and quilting the top. I figured that would be more fun than setting it aside, having it on my conscience to finish later, and ironing it again at that later time.

Took me most of the day to quilt this and then bind it. Now that it's quilted, I like it better than I did at first. I'm still kind of turned off by the orange (this was made from a jelly roll which I could not see clearly and didn't know was so much orange), but I think it'll be fine. I'm going to send it to Happy Chemo, as part of the Hands 2 Help challenge. I'm picturing an adult using this for warmth while getting chemo treatments. Or.. anyone who likes orange.

Now I'm happy I finished it and didn't just add it to my to-be-done pile.

In other news -- it really isn't news, because it's the same old thing. Another winter storm! I cancelled my plans to visit my mother because of a winter storm warning on April 18. Good grief. The birds are wondering what's happening to their world, hunkering down and trying to stay warm.


robins


mourning dove

Julie in Czech Republic

Remember this quilt? I made it for a friend's new granddaughter. I could never be specific, because this friend reads my blog, and the quilt was a surprise gift. Of course, once she reads the customs form that is required on the outside of the box, it is no longer much of a surprise. But the package was unexpected, anyway. Friend's granddaughter is named Julie. They live in Czech Republic.









I sent off the quilt, along with a little doll and doll blankie made from the quilt scraps, and waited for word. I have now received evidence that the quilt has arrived, and Julie has tried it out! Isn't she so cute??





It was expensive to send (wow, international postage rates have gone up a LOT since I last sent anything outside the USA), but it was worth it. I love seeing Julie with the quilt I made for her. I hope she loves it and the cuddles that it provides.